9,000-year-old submerged sites off Australia reveal ancient stone artefacts
Archaeologists have discovered 9,000-year-old submerged stone artifacts off the coast of Western Australia, providing insight into ancient Indigenous landscapes. These findings reveal how First Nations communities utilized areas that were dry land before rising sea levels.
Why it matters
The discovery deepens the understanding of human history and cultural heritage in regions now lost to environmental changes.
Archaeologists working with Indigenous rangers have documented two underwater sites off Murujuga in Western Australia, uncovering evidence of how First Nations communities used the landscape before rising sea levels submerged it thousands of years ago. The findings, reported by ABC News and detailed in a new study published in Quaternary Science Reviews, expand on earlier research into the region’s submerged Aboriginal heritage. The research was also announced by Flinders University, one of the institutions involved in the project. The discoveries include stone artefacts near an ancient freshwater spring and evidence of activity around a rocky hill overlooking a former river channel.
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