The earliest evidence of high-elevation ice age occupation in Australia
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4656405 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Amy M Way (0000-0001-8896-1815, The University of Sydney, corresponding author), P J Piper (0000-0001-9494-4341, Australian National University), Rebecca Chalker (Bush Heritage Australia), Dominic Wilkins (0000-0002-5055-2263, Tharawal Aboriginal), Erin Wilkins (0009-0007-5030-4415, Tharawal Aboriginal), Leanne Watson Redpath (Tharawal Aboriginal), Paul Gla, Paul Glass (Tharawal Aboriginal), Marilyn Rose Carroll (Tharawal Aboriginal), Emily Nutman (0000-0002-8912-7811, Australian National University), Nina Kononenko (0000-0002-9134-5826, The University of Sydney), Michael Spate (0000-0003-2844-735X, La Trobe University), Timothy T Barrows (0000-0003-2614-7177, UNSW Sydney), D Wright (0000-0003-2546-0559, Australian National University), Wayne Brennan (The University of Sydney) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 9 |
| Issue | 12 |
| Pages | 2471-2479 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-16 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Nature Human Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2397-3374 • E-ISSN: 2397-3374 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1038/s41562-025-02180-y |
| PMID | 40523959 |
| OpenAlex | W4411345671 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 38 |
Australia's Eastern Highlands have traditionally been viewed as a cold-climate barrier to Late Pleistocene (~35,000-11,700 years ago) mobility, with older evidence restricted to elevations below the periglacial zone. However, this model has not been adequately tested with regionally specific, high-resolution archaeological data. Here we report excavation results from a high-altitude (1,073 m) cave, Dargan Shelter, in the upper Blue Mountains, which indicate that occupation first occurred ~20,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum, making this the highest elevation Pleistocene site identified in Australia so far. Findings include multiple in situ hearths and 693 stone artefacts, several of which were sourced from sites along the mountain range, providing evidence for previously undetected interactions to the north and south and the repeated use of this cold-climate landscape during the Late Pleistocene. Our results align the Australian continent with global sequences, which indicate that cold climates were not necessarily natural barriers to human mobility and occupation
Archaeology · Cave · Effects of high altitude on humans · Excavation · Geography · Glacial period · Glacier · Hearth · Ice age · Ice caps · Physical geography · Pleistocene · Geology and Paleoclimatology Research · Marine animal studies overview · Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology · Geology · Paleontology
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| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |