Australian archaeologists uncover 40,000-year-old site

Australian archaeologists have uncovered what they believe to be the world's southernmost site of early human life, a 40,000-year-old tribal meeting ground, an Aboriginal leader said Wednesday.

The site appears to have been the last place of refuge for Aboriginal tribes from the cannon fire of Australia's first white settlers, said Michael Mansell of the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre.

The find came during an archaeological survey ahead of roadworks near Tasmania's Derwent River and soil dating had established the age of the artefacts found there.

"When the archaeological report came out it showed that (life there) had gone back longer than any other recorded place anywhere else in Tasmania, dating back to 40,000 years," Mansell told AFP.

Up to three million artefacts, including stone tools, shellfish fragments and food scraps, were believed to be buried in the area, which appeared to have been a meeting ground for three local tribes.

"In terms of culture and history this region now represents Tasmania's Valley of the Kings," he added, referring to the world heritage listed Egyptian tombs on the west bank of the Nile.

"When you get something like this that evokes memory of what your people did before we were born and evokes a memory about the legacy that they left us ... it makes the place irreplaceable

www.physorg.com...

This is incredible. The article goes on to clarify that through dating the site seems to be between 10 and 28000 year old aboriginal site. It is the oldest and southernmost site found to date. It is amazing that everytime we think we have something figured out we find something like this.

Because there is not much more to the original article, I'll be keeping my ear to the ground for news on this one.

reply to post by constantwonder


Good find,constantwonder.,hope to hear more on this.

oh boy, the jesus freaks aren't going to like this news...

how can you have a 40k year old site in a 6k year old universe

What has always fascinated me is that the Australian Aborigines are absolutely without a doubt the oldest living culture on the planet, and yet their spiritual philosophy is the most profound (to me). Nobody knows how many thousands of years they have remained unchanged.

A short wikiquote about their core philosophy, "dreamtime"

"Aboriginals believe in two forms of time; two parallel streams of activity. One is the daily objective activity, the other is an infinite spiritual cycle called the 'dreamtime', more real than reality itself. Whatever happens in the dreamtime establishes the values, symbols, and laws of Aboriginal society. It was believed that some people of unusual spiritual powers had contact with the dreamtime."

reply to post by constantwonder

a 40,000-year-old tribal meeting ground, an Aboriginal leader said Wednesday.

Link as OP

However:

The article goes on to clarify that through dating the site seems to be between 10 and 28000 year old aboriginal site.

This is a great Find OP thanks for bringing it to us.

However it seems from the source that the Aboriginal idea is 40,000 yrs old, but the Archeology is 10 -28,000 yrs old.

Though I believe and have read before dates of around 40,000 yrs for the first Aboriginal anscestors landing on the continent, it seems the story is as yet unconfirmed scientifically for the 40,000 yr old period.

Of to play my Didgeredoo a bit later, has been a while and keep meaning to be able to circular breathe again.

Kind Regards,

Elf.

Edit layout and unreadability.

[edit on 10-3-2010 by MischeviousElf]

reply to post by MischeviousElf


Here it is, 28.000 plus 10.000 = 38.000.

"That suggests to me that they're probably correct, giving us a top reading of 28,000 (years old) and certainly seeming to go back another 10,000 (years) at least beyond that," he said.

reply to post by Son of Will


There's a good estimate, based on climatological "data" (models based on indirect data, most of the time) that the "jump" across to Australia happened some time between 62,000 and 60,000 years ago (combined, human presence in Indonesia, mainly Florres Island, lowering of sea levels around that time and the general "direction" of human expansion during that era, which seemed to be mostly to tropical areas although one group was already headed for Siberia at that time). So, I'd say, aboriginal culture is probably as old, around 60,000 years!!

reply to post by DangerDeath


Thanks sorry for that lol.

Here is a dreamtime story I read about looking down on others and bullying etc... I have found it on you tube for all.

Very true of the teachings of Dreamtime, that infact all are equal and one, part of the same source.



Enjoy

Mischevious Elf

reply to post by MischeviousElf


...thx for posting that video... she's a wonderful storyteller... gonna go listen to her other stories now...

This is in my backyard!

Well.. about 100 k's from where I live. My sons besties father is one of the people trying to get the government here in Tasmania to actually even admit there is anything there....

www.examiner.com.au...

www.themercury.com.au...

Thats a couple of Tasmanian newspapers stories

There is a lot of 'bad' kind of feeling in Tassie with the Aboriginals, I think it is because the Tassie ones were completely wiped out by the white people, but by the same token some of the activists are just frikkin fruit loops too.

They make their noise the wrong way by doing things like storming into Parliament to have their flag removed when the intention of having the flag there was to have the Aboriginals included.

The also demanded that the bust of Truganninni (last surviving pure blood Tasmanian Aboriginal) be returned to them (her descendents). Their intentions with this bust and others was to remove them from public view.

Makes me wonder what else is here on this little island waiting to be found!

MM

Excellent... But, rest assured that the mainstream scientific community will flash their PhD's and find a way to discredit those who dated the find and will give it a new time that better fits with the modern science version of human evolution.

40,000 years is nothing. artifacts date back millions and even billions of years.

www.mcremo.com...

Originally posted by Doctor Smith
40,000 years is nothing. artifacts date back millions and even billions of years.

www.mcremo.com...

Exactly.. Cremo's work is awesome.. I'm currently about halfway through Forbidden Archeology (the full 900 page version!) and it's amazing what has been discovered and brushed aside because it didn't fit the current model. That book should be required reading in school. If ANY other subject in the world came up with the amount of evidence that he provides in that book, it would be made mandatory reading and become the new status quo. Unfortunately, cyclical changes and civilizations before us have become taboo in our western culture and they surely don't want to offend the religious community, nor do they risk the careers of their own people (professors etc..) who have spent countless years in school to learn to teach that which would become irrelevant. It's a sad, sad world right now

reply to post by SaturnFX


I'm not very religious and I know this is off topic, but where in christianity does it state the whole "universe" was built in 6000 years?

[edit on 10-3-2010 by NoJoker13]

Originally posted by Son of Will
What has always fascinated me is that the Australian Aborigines are absolutely without a doubt the oldest living culture on the planet, and yet their spiritual philosophy is the most profound (to me). Nobody knows how many thousands of years they have remained unchanged.

Yes they are very well adapted to their environment, and a very spiritually aware people.

They are also about the only people on the entire planet that never invented the wheel or discovered alcohol.



[edit on 10/3/2010 by Silver Shadow]

I always enjoy reading topics about ancient cultures long lost to modern man. There are unfathomable amounts of technology and knowledge long lost to the sands of time and ravages of war. With each passing year we find out more about who we were, could have been, and get insights into where we may be going. Someone once told me that if someone was to dig deep enough in the right spot, they could find a car. A rudimentary example to be sure, but it does raise the question of what we knew long ago but are only now rediscovering through excavations like this. Excellent article, I look forward to more. S&F

Originally posted by SaturnFX
oh boy, the jesus freaks aren't going to like this news...

how can you have a 40k year old site in a 6k year old universe

It's a shame you have to carry the extra load around with you. Many of us Jesus Freaks believe in evolution and see no conflict. Created from the dust and evolved go real well together. Imagine that.

How about you judge us individually and stop with the childish name calling and unsolicited attacks? Your on the Ancient & Lost Civilization Forum. Perhaps you did not notice? Did you notice the contradictions in the OP? What's your opinion on that?

Originally posted by Ouroborus2012

Originally posted by Doctor Smith
40,000 years is nothing. artifacts date back millions and even billions of years.

www.mcremo.com...

Exactly.. Cremo's work is awesome.. I'm currently about halfway through Forbidden Archeology (the full 900 page version!) and it's amazing what has been discovered and brushed aside because it didn't fit the current model. That book should be required reading in school. If ANY other subject in the world came up with the amount of evidence that he provides in that book, it would be made mandatory reading and become the new status quo. Unfortunately, cyclical changes and civilizations before us have become taboo in our western culture and they surely don't want to offend the religious community, nor do they risk the careers of their own people (professors etc..) who have spent countless years in school to learn to teach that which would become irrelevant. It's a sad, sad world right now

This and many other finds are brushed aside and also hidden from the public because of the ramifications of the finds. Why don't they do a thorough study of Puma Punku or research at Baalbek and the massive cut stones or even Sumerian legends and their society. What if while digging at the Pyramids (if Hawas allows you to) you come across a door. You move it aside and you the researcher "know" how the pyramids where built and who did it. You look inside and see essentially an ancient tool repository with hieroglyphs showing how the pyramids where built and what was used (form of electric arc/sonic drill to cut stone from stone and levitation) and how to use the tools that are still in the repository. And on top of that you see in the hieroglyphs giant beings with 12 fingers guiding smaller beings and instructing them how to do this and that. What do you do, for years you as a researcher have been taught that it was done this way and in this time frame but then you see a total 180 from what has been instructed to you.

A find like this would be covered up and the stuff taken to places for study but hidden from the public. Hawas would hate it because as I believe and others are starting to believe is that the egyptians came across the pyramids and the sphinx maybe 5 or 7 thousand years BC and that these structures where built when this area of the world was less desert (last Ice age). It is a conspiracy of silence from the western scientists and the scientists of the area that the ruins are found. Because as an example Hawas has a vested interest to make sure that Egyptians aren't shown to be just nomads coming across ancient ruins. The western scientists who have been taught by other scientists and other researchers work who had an ethnocentric view of the world and tried to fit everything into 6 thousand years, can't imagine that all their life work may be based on a persons bigoted view of the world especially since science is supposed to be beyond those problems.

Don't get me wrong, the powers that be know full well that humanity is older than what is being shown to us. But if they told the rest of the world, then they would lose power over much of the populace. If it comes out that we are survivors from a time where we had flying ships and sailing ships and technology that we can't do today (at least in public), then people would want to know more and eventually they would start to s hun today's religious and ethnocentric views and want to learn more about our common heritage and their past. It's all about control and who is doing the controlling from the elite. As for the scientists and researchers, it's vanity and denial. It takes a big man or woman to admit a mistake, what type of man or woman does it take to admit their lifetime work is not only a mistake but worthless.

S&F, this is really neat stuff! This is the second time recently someone has posted something like this, and I love history so I'm just eating it all up!

I really hope all these new discoveries keep coming. I'll repeat what I said in the one other thread... I think that if we're discovering stuff like this right now, imagine what is still left under the earth, under the ocean? I think if more earthquakes occur (hopefully nothing too destructive) we may see some more archaeological finds - and if the earthquakes aren't very destructive, just a bit of earth shifting and such, we may be able to see very old structures/artifacts still intact. At least I'm hoping for these finds. Lets keep our fingers crossed.

reply to post by constantwonder


The article is confusing. Is it 28,000 or 40,000? Seems like a contradiction but must just be poorly authored.