New archaeological results from the oldest Pleistocene site yet to be identified in high-altitude Australia indicate that human occupation began about 20,000 years ago, during the peak of the last glacial maximum. This site — Dargan Shelter — provides evidence of repeated human movement through and adaption to a periglacial environment in Australia.
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References
Stockton, E. & Holland, W. Cultural sites and their environment in the Blue Mountains. Archaeol. Phys. Anthropol. Ocean. 9, 36–65 (1974). This paper presents the results of previous archaeological research excavations in the Blue Mountains.
Williams, A., Atkinson, F., Lau, M. & Toms, P. S. A glacial cryptic refuge in south-east Australia: human occupation and mobility from 36 000 years ago in the Sydney Basin, New South Wales. J. Quat. Sci. 29, 735–748 (2014). This paper reports the oldest site to the east of the Blue Mountains.
Barrows, T. T., Mills, S. C., Fitzsimmons, K., Wasson, R. & Galloway, R. Low-altitude periglacial activity in southeastern Australia during the late Pleistocene. Quat. Res. 107, 125–146 (2022). This paper reports the altitude of periglacial environmental activity in Australia’s Eastern Highlands.
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This is a summary of: Way, A. M. et al. The earliest evidence of high-elevation ice age occupation in Australia. Nat. Hum. Behav. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02180-y (2025).
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People lived high in the mountains in Australia during the last ice age. Nat Hum Behav (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02181-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-025-02181-x