Humans arrived in Australia at least 65,000 years ago

  • 21/07/2017

New excavations show humans arrived in Australia at least 65,000 years ago - that's 18,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The discovery at Kakadu in the Northern Territory drastically alters the known history of the trek out of Africa by modern humans.

In a rocky outcrop an archaeological dig has upended history, the three metre deep, 20 metre square dig has led to the discovery of 10,000 artefacts, including a spear tip and an axe.

The history defining moment came months later however, when the artefacts were tested in high tech labs that declared the age of the items.

The five year project uncovered evidence of earliest human settlement anywhere on the planet.

The breakthrough proves beyond doubt that humans first arrived in Australia well before first thought.

Rewriting the history of the human story, it means after modern humans evolved in Africa 200,000 years ago they spread to Australia, 20,000 years earlier than previously thought.

The controversial findings meant samples underwent blind tests and peer reviews, it concluded that they were in fact true.

Australia, not Europe was the next destination in the human story.

The sacred aboriginal site is now one with international significance.

Newshub.