Malakunanja II

Malakunanja II or Madjedbebe is a rock shelter in Arnhem Land, in the Northern Territory of Australia. It is about 50 kilometres from the coast.[1] Madjedbebe was first occupied by humans around 65 thousand (at least 59.3 thousand) years ago.[2] This is the oldest site showing the presence of humans in Australia. More than 1500 items have been found in the shelter, including stone tools and grinding stones, ochre, and charcoal. Some of these were buried more than 2.5 metres below the surface. The shelter also includes faded paintings on the walls. The paintings are drawn with ochre.

References

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  1. "How old is Australian Rock Art?". Aboriginal Art Online. 2004. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  2. Clarkson, Chris; Smith, Mike; Marwick, Ben; Fullagar, Richard; Wallis, Lynley A.; Faulkner, Patrick; Manne, Tiina; Hayes, Elspeth; Roberts, Richard G.; Jacobs, Zenobia; Carah, Xavier; Lowe, Kelsey M.; Matthews, Jacqueline; Florin, S. Anna (June 2015). "The archaeology, chronology and stratigraphy of Madjedbebe (Malakunanja II): A site in northern Australia with early occupation". Journal of Human Evolution. 83: 46–64. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2015.03.014. PMID 25957653. S2CID 19824757.