Sydney (AFP)
Aboriginal sites have been uncovered off the Australian coast for the first time by archaeologists, paving the way for the discovery of ancient settlement areas that have been covered by water since the end of the last ice age.
Hundreds of ancient stone tools made by indigenous peoples living in present-day Australia at least 7,000 years ago have been found two meters below sea level near the west coast of that country, according to the results of this research published Thursday in the journal PLOS ONE.
Traces of human activity have also been detected on a second site dating back at least 8,500 years nearby, 14 m deep.
Archaeologists, who point out that these two settlements may well be older, consider this to be a first step. This could indeed lead to the discovery of more Aboriginal sites which are believed to have been submerged during the last ice age, which started 18,000 years ago and ended 8,000 years ago.
Jonathan Benjamin, an associate professor at Flinders University, co-author of this study, explained that with the rise in sea level, more than 30% of this vast island-continent has found itself invaded by water.
"A huge amount of archaeological material documenting the lives of Aboriginal people is now underwater," he added.
"We now have ultimately the first evidence that at least some of this archaeological material has survived the rising waters," he said.
Diving teams managed to locate 269 objects at a site approximately 2.4 meters below sea level off Cape Bruguieres, in the Pilbara region, and found an underwater source at the second site. , at Flying Foam Passage.
In the land part of Australia, archaeologists have uncovered areas formerly populated by Aborigines dating back at least 65,000 years.
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