Indigenous rock shelter in Top End pushes Australia's human history back to 65,000 years

Many scientists already accepted that the shelter, called Madjedbebe, was home to the earliest evidence of humans in Australia.

But now, sophisticated dating of sediments at the site confirms it is one of the most significant cultural and archaeological sites in the world.

Chris Clarkson from the University of Queensland said the new date would have a big impact on our understanding of when humans left Africa and moved through what is now South-East Asia.

"This site confirms, once more, that this is an incredibly important region — not only in Australia, but on the world stage, in terms of cultural heritage and understanding human origins," Dr Clarkson said.

Located 300 kilometres east of Darwin in Mirarr Country, the Madjedbebe rock shelter sits at the base of the Arnhem Land escarpment on a sandy plain.

Dr Clarkson said the discoveries, published today in the journal Nature, demonstrated very strong cultural continuity at the site across thousands of years.

The researchers uncovered a wealth of artefacts, including the world's oldest-known ground-edge axe head — one made by grinding rather than flaking.

"The fundamental aspects of technology, such as axes, grindstones and the production of ochre to produce art goes from the present right the way [back]," Dr Clarkson, who was the lead author of the study, said.