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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.
A marsupial lion skeleton in the Naracoorte Caves, South Australia. The term Australian megafauna refers to the megafauna in Australia [1] during the Pleistocene Epoch.Most of these species became extinct during the latter half of the Pleistocene, and the roles of human and climatic factors in their extinction are contested.
The oldest rock art was produced more than 28,000 years ago, making it the oldest securely dated prehistoric art in Australia. [2] The cave was still visited by members of the Jawoyn within living memory, possibly until as late as the 1950s, [ 3 ] but its existence had been forgotten until its 2006 rediscovery.
This is a list of Australian Aboriginal prehistoric sites. Key: BGS = Below ground surface; C14 = Radiocarbon date; char. = charcoal; OSL = Optical stimulated thermoluminescence; AA = Australian Archaeology
Fossils have been found in more than 200 individual locations. [4] The fossil record here is significant because it provides evidence on evolution and the distribution of species across Gondwana . The presence of Riversleigh fauna in the Oligo-Miocene has been classified by four "faunal zones", and used to denote the presence of fossil taxa in ...
Sahul (/ s ə ˈ h uː l /), also called Sahul-land, Meganesia, Papualand and Greater Australia, [1] was a paleocontinent that encompassed the modern-day landmasses of mainland Australia, Tasmania, New Guinea, and the Aru Islands.
The site is located at the confluence of Dry Creek and the Maribyrnong River, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) north of Keilor, Victoria at The site was found when artefacts were exposed in sand quarries, and as a result of increased bank erosion of the river terraces due to runoff from the then recently opened Melbourne Airport.
Australia separated from Gondwana 99 Ma, and initially remained warm and humid with rainforest vegetation. Inland Australia had systems of rivers and lakes with abundant wildlife. Fossil birds, platypus, frogs and snakes are present from this period. From 30 Ma there was a period of global cooling, and from 15 Ma the Antarctic ice sheet formed.