Abstract
Pleistocene dates from three cave sites indicate the human capacity to colonise across two oceanic straits to the east of a former Tasmania–Australia–New Guinea continent by 33 kyr bp. The sites demonstrate exploitation of coastal marine and lowland tropical forest resources. They extend Pleistocene occupation into island Melanesia and demonstrate that the large islands of northern Melanesia have an antiquity of human occupation of the same order as the adjacent Greater Australian continent.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Groube, L., Chappell, J., Muke, J. & Price, D. Nature 324, 453–455 (1986).
White, J. P. & O'Connell, J. F. A Prehistory of Australia, New Guinea and Sahul (Academic, Sydney, 1982).
Pearce, R. H. & Barbetti, M. Archaeol. Oceania 16, 173–178 (1981).
Gillieson, D. S. & Mountain, M. J. Archaeol. Oceania 18, 53–62 (1983).
Specht, J., Lilley, I. & Normu, J. Austr. Archaeol. 12, 13–15 (1981).
Allen, J. J. pacif. Hist. 14, 186–201 (1984).
Chappell, J. & Thorn, B. G. in Sunda and Sahul (eds Allen, J., Golson, J. & Jones, R.) 275–291 (Academic, London, 1977).
Hope, G. S., Golson, J. & Allen, J. J. hum. Evol. 12, 37–60 (1983).
Downie, J. E. & White, J. P. Rec. Aust. Mus. 31, 763–802 (1979).
Klein, R. G. Science 197, 121–126 (1977).
Singer, R. & Wymer, J. The Middle Stone Age at Klasies River Mouth in South Africa (University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1982).
McBurney, C. B. M. The Haua Fteah (Cyrenaica) and the Stone Age of the South-East Mediterranean (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1967).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Allen, J., Gosden, C., Jones, R. et al. Pleistocene dates for the human occupation of New Ireland, northern Melanesia. Nature 331, 707–709 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/331707a0
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/331707a0
- Springer Nature Limited
This article is cited by
-
Pleistocene Water Crossings and Adaptive Flexibility Within the Homo Genus
Journal of Archaeological Research (2021)
-
Bees in the Southwest Pacific: Origins, diversity and conservation
Apidologie (2011)
-
KIR3DL1/S1 genotypes and KIR2DS4 allelic variants in the AB KIR genotypes are associated with Plasmodium-positive individuals in malaria infection
Immunogenetics (2009)
-
Reconstructing the origin of the Lapita Cultural Complex: mtDNA analyses of East Sepik Province, PNG
Journal of Human Genetics (2008)
-
Genetic and phylogenetic analyses of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I variants from Melanesians with an without spastic myelopathy
Molecular Neurobiology (1994)