Recent excavations at Mololo Cave on Waigeo Island have unveiled evidence suggesting that humans inhabited the area at least 55,000 years ago, providing new insights into the migration routes of modern humans to Australia.
While there has been ongoing debate about the timeline of human migration to Australia, with genetic studies indicating arrivals as recently as 50,000 years ago, archaeological findings imply that early humans might have arrived even earlier, potentially 65,000 to 80,000 years ago.
The route taken by these ancient people is also a subject of contention. During the last Ice Age, lower sea levels connected many island landmasses to the mainland, allowing for two primary migration pathways. The northern route extended from Borneo to Sulawesi, then onward to New Guinea and into Australia, while the southern route traversed through Java, Bali, and Timor.
The research team, led by archaeologists, focused their investigations on Mololo Cave, located within Indonesia’s Raja Ampat islands, near one of the proposed northern routes. Findings from the cave included charcoal and stone flakes, indicative of human activity.
A pivotal discovery was a piece of plant resin measuring 1.4 centimeters, which has been dated to at least 55,000 years old. This shaped resin suggests purposeful harvesting from a tree, likely used for creating light in caves or potentially for other uses such as fragrance or as an adhesive, highlighting the presence of early humans on Waigeo.
According to researchers, the evidence supports the concept of migration via the northern route, as historically suggested by geographical models. The northern route presents shorter sea crossings between islands, providing a feasible pathway for early human travelers.
In recent excavations, significant findings supporting this theory have emerged, including a 50,000-year-old cave painting on Sulawesi and evidence indicating no human presence in Timor before 44,000 years ago, suggesting the southern route was utilized later.
The research also raises questions about the Denisovans, an extinct human species known from mainland Asia. While populations in Southeast Asia, including Papua New Guinea, possess Denisovan DNA, there is no fossil evidence of these ancient humans in Australia, indicating that only modern humans, or Homo sapiens, may have settled there.
