Life stories

Archaeological discoveries at the Willandra Lakes Region, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in western New South Wales, have reshaped our understanding of Australia's human history. The skeletal remains of Mungo Lady (WLH 1) and Mungo Man (WLH 3), dated to approximately 42,000 years ago during the late Pleistocene era, were found by geologist Jim Bowler in 1968 and 1974, respectively. These findings challenged the prevailing belief that Aboriginal Australians had arrived on the continent only a few thousand years prior, demonstrating instead a deep temporal continuity spanning tens of thousands of years. The discoveries, made during a geomorphological study of the region's interconnected lake system, also highlight the significance of Indigenous knowledge and land management practices in shaping the landscape over millennia.

Allbrook, M. (2024). Life stories. Reframing Indigenous Biography, 18–21. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003351863-2