Stone-built settlement dating to before last Ice Age discovered in Australia's Dampier Archipelago

A team of researchers from The University of Western Australia which is exploring the mysteries of the National Heritage listed Dampier Archipelago in north west WA has uncovered evidence of one of Australia’s most ancient settlements.

The excavation site where Ice Age artefacts were discovered 
[Credit: University of Western Australia]

Director of UWA’s Centre for Rock Art Research and Management, Professor Jo McDonald, said that although the research was in its early stages, the first rock shelter excavation in the area had uncovered evidence of Aboriginal occupation dating before and through the last ice age.

Professor McDonald is leading a 14 person UWA team funded by the Australian Research Council and Rio Tinto and working in collaboration with the Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC).  They aim to document the National Heritage values of the Archipelago and understand the earliest human uses of the area.

“Excavations on Rosemary Island, one of the outer islands, have uncovered evidence of one of the earliest known domestic structures in Australia, dated between 8000 and 9000 years ago,” she said.

“This is an astounding find and has not only enormous scientific significance but will be of great benefit to Aboriginal communities in the area, enhancing their connections to their deep past and cultural heritage.”

Known as Murujuga, the Archipelago in WA’s Pilbara region is made up of 42 islands as well as reefs, shoals, channels and straits and is the traditional home of five Aboriginal language groups.

It was formed 7000 years ago when rising sea levels flooded what were once coastal plains. The underlying rocks are among the oldest on earth, formed in the ‘Archaean’ period more than 2400 million years ago.