40,000-year-old human occupation evidence found in Tanimbar Islands, Indonesia, sheds light on the island-hopping route to Australia and near north.

New evidence of human occupation in southeast Indonesia over 40,000 years ago provides fresh clues to the island-hopping route taken by the first humans to arrive in Australia and the near north. Discovered at Elivavan on Indonesia's Tanimbar islands, this site is significant as Tanimbar is near the Sahul shelf, encompassing modern-day Australia and New Guinea. This discovery helps scientists explore the two main routes they have been studying since the mid-20th century for how early ancestors arrived from Southeast Asia.

July 28, 2024
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