Archaeologists have discovered thousands of stone artifacts and animal bones in Timor Island’s Laili rock shelter, leading to a reassessment of early human migration routes to Australia. Analysis shows humans arrived around 44,000 years ago, challenging the theory that Timor was an initial stepping stone. Instead, evidence suggests early humans used New Guinea for their migration.
They detected a human “arrival signature” from about 44,000 years ago, suggesting there were no humans on the island prior to this time. “This provides further evidence to suggest early humans were making the crossing to Australia using the stepping stone island of New Guinea, rather than Timor Island as researchers had previously suggested.
The research team unearthed lots of small stone tools during the excavation, as well as charred fish bones.