Humans Settled in Western Australia 47000 Years Ago

Archaeological researches often update the periods of the prehistorical events. They also deepen our knowledge of the history. Earlier studies revealed that the humans were migrated to Australia 65,000 years ago. The latest discovery of stone artefacts from Karnatukul (Serpent’s Glen) in Australian Western Desert shows that the humans settled in western Australia 47,000 years ago. It is 20,000 years earlier than the previously known discovery. The scientists from the University of Western Australia have re-excavated the rock shelter of Karnatukul. They have found more than 25,000 artefacts from the site. The artefacts include stones, pigment arts and pigment fragments. The pigment arts include human figures, snakes, turtles and plants. 

(Australia Map - Wikipedia)

They have used radiocarbon dating method to determine the age of the artefacts. The oldest artefact from the excavation is an ironstone scraper. It is 47,860 years old. This indicates that the humans might have settled in western Australia more than 47,860 years ago. The scientists could not date any artefacts more than 50,000 years old. Because, the radiocarbon dating technique can give accurate result for around 40,000 years old objects only. 

The half-life of Carbon-14, which is used in radiocarbon dating, is 5730 years. The amount of Carbon-14 will be reduced to below 1% after 40,000 years. So, it is difficult to measure it accurately. If we need to determine the age of more than 40,000 years old objects, we can use other radioisotope dating like Uranium-lead dating. The half-life of Uranium-235 is 703.8 million years. 

(How carbon dating works)

The scientists are still analyzing and organizing the remaining artefacts. They have stored those artefacts in the Archaeology Lab of the University of Western Australia. The already studied artefacts are stored in the West Australian Museum. The scientists have mentioned that the earliest pigment art is dated between 8,160 and 2,330 years ago. Hope this ongoing research will reveal more interesting information about the humans settled in Australia. 

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