Study Reveals Early Human Migration to Australia 60,000 Years Ago
A recent study conducted by researchers from the University of Huddersfield and the University of Southampton has provided new insights into the timeline of human migration to Australia and New Guinea. The research, funded by the European Research Council, involved a comprehensive analysis of human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) from Aboriginal Australians, New Guineans, and populations across Southeast Asia and the western Pacific. The findings suggest that modern humans, Homo sapiens, first settled in the region known as Sahul, which included New Guinea and Australia, around 60,000 years ago. This supports the 'long chronology' theory, which posits an earlier arrival compared to the 'short chronology' that suggests a later settlement. The study also identified multiple migration routes into Sahul, indicating that early humans likely entered the continent from different regions in Southeast Asia. 
