Peter Veth, The University of Western Australia; David W. Zeanah, California State University, Sacramento; Fiona Hook, The University of Western Australia; Kane Ditchfield, The University of Western Australia, and Peter Kendrick, The University of Western Australia
Barrow Island off the coast of Western Australia holds a unique record of First Nations people. For millennia, they lived on vast plains that are now drowned by the sea.
In addition to destroyed buildings, there’s an entire underground world – filled with untold numbers of artifacts, bones and ruins – that are exposed and damaged by the digging of trenches.
After sifting through DNA from almost 10,000 people from ancient and pre-modern societies, we have discovered six cases of Down syndrome in past human populations.
Rock art directly represents how our ancestors saw the world. A new approach involving the history of the landscape brings fresh meaning to Arnhem Land rock art.
Our new study reveals a mosaic of habitable landscapes – now submerged by the ocean – once supported up to 500,000 people living in Australia’s northwest.
Female bodies have an advantage in endurance ability that means Paleolithic women likely hunted game, not just gathered plants. The story is written in living and ancient human bodies.