Stepping-Stones to Sahul

This project aims to answer a key question about Indigenous Australian origins: Was there something unique about human behaviour in the last 50,000 years that explains why we are the only species of human alive today? The project will explore two potential human migrations to Australia around 65,000 and 50,000 years ago. Archaeological sites will be excavated on Indonesian and Timor-Leste islands, believed to be the route of the earliest human arrivals in Australia. Stone tools from these sites will be analysed to determine if the earlier migration used larger, long-lasting tools, and the later migration used smaller, disposable tools. New modes of stone tool use may have given the later migration an advantage, such as in making complex tools with multiple pieces of stone and in creating body markings to show tribal identity. The findings will be communicated to the public through press