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An extensive body of engraved rock art on the Great Papuan Plateau is documented here for the first time, along with the first dates for occupation. Consisting largely of deeply abraded or pecked barred ovals and cupules, the rock art of this region does not fit comfortably into any regional models for rock art previously described. It does, however, exhibit some similarity to art in regions to the east and the west of the plateau. Subject to further archaeological testing, we present a number of exploratory hypotheses with which to explain the presence of the engravings; as part of the ethnographic and contemporary Kasua's cultural suite; as part of a relatively recent (late Holocene) migration of peoples from the Gulf to the plateau; or as part of an earlier movement of people from the west, possibly as part of the movement of people into the Sahul continent in the Late Pleistocene. We conclude that the Great Papuan Plateau is not a late and marginally occupied 'backwater' but rather part of a possible corridor of human movement across northern Sahul and a region that could allow us to better understand modern humans as they reached the Sahul continent.

This study explores the application of soil micromorphological and automated scanning electron microscopy mineralogical analysis to characterise lithological boundaries and site formation history from an archaeological cave site on Barrow Island, northwestern Australia. The high-resolution characterisation is used to document the changing depositional context within Boodie Cave from the earliest period of occupation around 50 ky BP through to when transgressing seas isolated the island around 7 ky BP. Comparisons are made between excavations at the front of the cave — where stratigraphic integrity is high and a thicker, more comprehensive early Holocene sequence is preserved, with excavations inside the cave — where stratigraphic integrity is lower but an older Pleistocene record is preserved. The combination of these depositional scenarios provides a complete stratigraphic sequence for Boodie Cave, with depositional contacts defined at macro-, meso- and microscale levels. These contacts include erosive surfaces and trampled (ground) surfaces, such as the upper interface of SU5 and SU4. Based on the mineralogical and textural variations (microfacies) preserved within each unit, the vertical mixing zone is estimated to be between 1 and 5 cm. This reworking has not affected the general sequence of sedimentological (including grain size and mineralogy) and macro-cultural changes, which record an increasingly marine-dominated assemblage as the coastline encroaches. The integration of microscopic observations with anthracological, archaeomalacological, zooarchaeological and lithic analyses provides a more dynamic and comprehensive dialogue for interpreting the formation history of Boodie Cave and likely other early occupation sites from northern Australia

Published ages of >50 ka for occupation at Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II) in Australia's north have kept the site prominent in discussions about the colonisation of Sahul. The site also contains one of the largest stone artefact assemblages in Sahul for this early period. However, the stone artefacts and other important archaeological components of the site have never been described in detail, leading to persistent doubts about its stratigraphic integrity. We report on our analysis of the stone artefacts and faunal and other materials recovered during the 1989 excavations, as well as the stratigraphy and depositional history recorded by the original excavators. We demonstrate that the technology and raw materials of the early assemblage are distinctive from those in the overlying layers. Silcrete and quartzite artefacts are common in the early assemblage, which also includes edge-ground axe fragments and ground haematite. The lower flaked stone assemblage is distinctive, comprising a mix of long convergent flakes, some radial flakes with faceted platforms, and many small thin silcrete flakes that we interpret as thinning flakes. Residue and use-wear analysis indicate occasional grinding of haematite and woodworking, as well as frequent abrading of platform edges on thinning flakes. We conclude that previous claims of extensive displacement of artefacts and post-depositional disturbance may have been overstated. The stone artefacts and stratigraphic details support previous claims for human occupation 50-60 ka and show that human occupation during this time differed from later periods. We discuss the implications of these new data for understanding the first human colonisation of Sahul.