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The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the colonisation of Australia in 1788, which marks the start of consistent written documentation of Australia. This period has been variously estimated, with most evidence suggesting that it goes back between 50,000 and 65,000 years.
Whether these first migrations involved one or several successive waves and distinct peoples is still subject to academic debate, as is its timing. The minimum widely accepted time frame places presence of humans in Australia at 40,000 to 43,000 years Before Present (BP), while the upper range supported by others is 60,000 to 70,000 years BP. [3]
[80] [81] This is supported by a date of 50,000–60,000 years ago for the oldest evidence of settlement in Australia, [69] [82] around 40,000 years ago for the oldest human remains, [69] the earliest humans artifacts which are at least 65,000 years old [83] and the extinction of the Australian megafauna by humans between 46,000 and 15,000 ...
In 2019–20, immigration to Australia came to a halt during the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn saw a shrinkage of the Australian population for the first time since World War I, [4] [5] though in the following period 2021–22 showed a very strong recovery of migrant arrivals.
The ancestors of Aboriginal Australians began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the last glacial period. [1] [2] Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing artistic and religious traditions in the world.
South Australia was founded as a "free province"—it was never a penal colony. [33] Victoria and Western Australia were also founded "free", but later accepted transported convicts. [34] [35] A campaign by the settlers of New South Wales led to the end of convict transportation to that colony; the last convict ship arrived in 1848. [36]
Modern humans ventured into northern Europe under extremely cold climate conditions and were living side by side with Neanderthals more than 45,000 years ago, according to new evidence.
The human history of Australia, however, commences with the arrival of the first ancestors of Aboriginal Australians by sea from Maritime Southeast Asia between 50,000 and 65,000 years ago, and continues to the present day multicultural democracy. Aboriginal Australians settled throughout continental Australia and many nearby islands.