Anatomically modern humans—Homo sapiens—originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago. Sometime between 80,000 and 100,000 years the human diaspora began and, as a result, humans came to occupy most of the places on the planet.
Australia is an island continent and is not now connected to any other land masses. Even at the height of the ice ages, when sea levels were much lower, sizable stretches of water separated Australia from other land masses. As humans spread throughout the globe, it is obvious that there had to have been some form of watercraft to get there. David Frankel, writing in the Oxford Companion to Archaeology, puts it this way:
“All movement to Australia involved substantial voyages across open ocean.”
The earliest evidence of human occupation in Australia comes from the Lake Mungo area. While the lake is now dry, at one time it was a part of the Willandra Lakes system in the far west of New South Wales. Fifty thousand years ago, these lakes had been filled with fresh water from the Lachlan River.
About 40,000 years ago, a young woman—about 19 years of age—died and her people cremated her remains. They then gathered her bones, smashed them, and interred them in a small pit near the lake. Her remains were covered with red ochre from a site several hundred kilometers from the burial. In 1968, Jim Bowler from the Australian National University found her bones while studying ancient climates in the area. Christopher Catling and Paul Bahn, in their book The Complete Practical Encyclopedia of Archaeology, report:
“This remarkable find remains the world’s first evidence of ritual cremation.”
Also at about 40,000 years ago (some sources indicate 42,000 years ago), a fifty-year-old man died. His body was placed in a shallow grave and covered with red ochre. His remains were uncovered in 1974, providing additional data from the human settlement of Australia at this time. Analysis of the skeleton shows that he was about 77” (6’ 5”) tall.
These human remains are commonly referred to as the Lake Mungo Woman or Mungo Lady (or LM1) and the Lake Mungo Man (or LM3). As in other parts of the world, ancient human remains can be controversial. Christopher Catling and Paul Bahn write:
“Indigenous people worldwide are concerned about controlling their history and how archaeologists research their past. Lack of respect for human remains has been a particularly contentious issue, and in Australia there has been considerable debate and even conflict between archaeologists and Aboriginal communities.”
The remains of Lake Mungo Woman were repatriated to the aboriginal people in 1992. Lake Mungo Woman is a symbol of the long Aboriginal occupation of Australia. Her remains are in a locked vault at the Mungo National Park exhibition center. Opening the vault requires two keys: one of these keys is controlled by the Three Traditional Tribal Groups (Paakantji, Mathi Mathi, and Ngiyampaa) and the other is controlled by archaeologists.
The archaeological record at Lake Mungo also includes stone artifacts, earth ovens, hearths, stone quarries, and middens. Some of these items have been dated back to 50,000 years ago.
The stone tools used for cutting, chopping, and scraping were made from stone acquired from local quarries. Using high magnification of the cutting edges on some of the tools shows wear patterns consistent with scraping meat from bone and cleaning plant tubers.
With regard to the lifestyle of these early Australian hunters and gatherers, Christopher Catling and Paul Bahn report:
“People hunted a full range of large and small animals and collected frogs, freshwater mussels and crayfish. They also fished for Murray cod and especially golden perch, which were probably caught using nets.”
Concerning the evidence suggesting fishing nets, Chris Gosden, in an entry in A Dictionary of Archaeology, reports:
“The main species of fish to be found, golden perch, are mostly of similar size, suggesting the use of nets; a number of bone points have been found which may have been netting needles.”
Another interesting part of the archaeological record in the area is human footprints. Discovered in 2003, there are 124 fossilized footprints made by both adults and children. These have been dated to 20,000 years ago. Marks alongside the footprints may have been made by dragging spears or digging sticks over the surface.
About 22,000 years ago, the climate in the region began to change, becoming drier, windier, and colder. By 18,000 years ago, the inland lakes had dried up and the population which had once relied on the abundant resources in the area had moved to other regions.