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Humans reach Australia
c. 65,000–50,000 years ago (debated)· Event· Human ancestors & us
DebatedScientists disagree about when, how or why.
Modern humans crossed the sea to reach Australia and New Guinea by about 50,000 years ago, possibly 65,000.
See it on the Life map →What happened
Even with sea levels lower and Australia joined to New Guinea as one landmass, Sahul, reaching it took several open-water crossings, so people must have used boats or rafts. Madjedbebe rock shelter in northern Australia has artifacts dated to about 65,000 years, a claim others dispute. Lake Mungo, in New South Wales, holds burials about 42,000 years old, including one sprinkled with red ochre. Aboriginal Australians and Papuans descend from these first arrivals.
Why it matters
It is among the earliest evidence of seafaring, and Aboriginal Australian cultures have one of the longest continuous histories of any people on Earth.
The evidence (fossils, genes, rocks)
Luminescence dating of sediments around artifacts; burials and rock art; and genomes showing Aboriginal Australians and Papuans split from other populations roughly 50,000–70,000 years ago.
Still debated
Whether arrival was closer to 65,000 or 50,000 years ago, which island route people took, and whether their arrival helped wipe out Australia's giant animals.
Connections (2)
▸Out of Africa: Homo sapiens spreads worldwide led to Humans reach AustraliaStrong evidence
The connection
Moving east along South Asian coasts and through the Indonesian islands, modern humans reached Sahul, the single landmass of Australia and New Guinea at low sea level. Even then they needed several open-sea crossings, the longest likely tens of kilometers: among the earliest evidence of deliberate seafaring.
When and how
Island Southeast Asia to northern Australia and New Guinea, about 65,000–50,000 years ago; Madjedbebe rock shelter in northern Australia holds the oldest claimed artifacts.
How sure are we?
Archaeological dates, plus genomes showing Aboriginal Australians and Papuans descend from the same out-of-Africa expansion as other non-Africans.
Debates and open questions
The date is contested, and so is the route: a northern path via Sulawesi to New Guinea, or a southern one via Timor to Australia.
▸Humans reach Australia may have helped cause Ice-age megafauna extinctionsDebated
The connection
Australia lost most of its giant animals, such as rhino-sized Diprotodon, giant kangaroos and the big flightless bird Genyornis, around 50,000–40,000 years ago, some time after people arrived; how long after depends on the debated arrival date. No major climate shift clearly matches that timing, so many researchers suspect hunting and landscape burning by people.
When and how
Australia and New Guinea, then joined as Sahul, about 50,000–40,000 years ago; key sites include Cuddie Springs (New South Wales) and Lynch's Crater (Queensland).
How sure are we?
Dates from many fossil sites cluster near 45,000 years ago; at Lynch's Crater, a sharp drop in dung-fungus spores in lake mud marks when large plant-eaters disappeared.
Debates and open questions
Dates are uncertain and kill sites are almost absent; some argue a drying climate or a slow earlier decline did the damage, others that people and climate acted together.