Prehistory
Jack Hills Zircons: Earth's Oldest Known Minerals in Australia
The zircons suggested that solid continental-type crust, and probably liquid water, existed on Earth within about 150 million years of its formation.
Region
Oceania
Prehistory
Pilbara Stromatolites: Evidence of Life 3.5 Billion Years Ago
Fossil microbial mounds in the Pilbara provide the oldest broadly accepted evidence of life on Earth.
Prehistory
Dickinsonia: The Ediacaran Fossil Confirmed as an Early Animal
Molecular traces of cholesterol showed that Dickinsonia was an animal, one of the oldest known in the fossil record.
Prehistory
Diprotodon: Australia's Giant Marsupial and Its Extinction
Diprotodon died out roughly 45,000 to 40,000 years ago, part of a wave of Australian megafauna extinctions after humans arrived.
Prehistory
Madjedbebe: Australia's Oldest Known Human Occupation Site
Excavations dated the earliest artefacts to about 65,000 years ago, pushing back the possible human arrival in Australia, though the date remains debated.
Prehistory
First Australians: How Humans Reached Australia by Sea
Modern humans completed the earliest known long sea crossings and settled all of Sahul, founding the world's longest continuous living cultures.
Prehistory
Lake Mungo: Mungo Lady, Mungo Man and Australia's Oldest Burials
The burials are among the oldest known human remains in Australia and the oldest known cremation; both were later returned to their Aboriginal custodians.
Prehistory
Nawarla Gabarnmang: Ancient Rock Art Shelter of Arnhem Land
Excavations revealed one of the oldest securely dated pieces of rock art in Australia and a long record of Aboriginal occupation.
Prehistory
Gwion Gwion Rock Paintings of the Kimberley, Australia
Dating of mud wasp nests placed the Gwion Gwion style at about 12,000 years ago, confirming it as an ancient part of Aboriginal Australian rock art traditions.
Prehistory
Kuk Swamp: Early Agriculture in the Highlands of New Guinea
Recognised as one of the few places where agriculture developed independently; inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2008.
Prehistory
Budj Bim: The Ancient Gunditjmara Eel Traps of Victoria
An extensive Aboriginal aquaculture system for trapping and holding eels, inscribed as the UNESCO World Heritage Site Budj Bim Cultural Landscape in 2019.
Ancient World
Lapita Culture: Pottery and the First Settlers of Remote Oceania
Lapita voyagers became the first people to settle Remote Oceania, reaching Fiji, Tonga and Samoa, where their descendants became the ancestors of the Polynesians.