The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates a... more The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia's megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subseq...
The timing, context and nature of the first people to enter Sahul is still poorly understood owin... more The timing, context and nature of the first people to enter Sahul is still poorly understood owing to a fragmented archaeological record. However, quantifying the plausible demographic context of this founding population is essential to determine how and why the initial peopling of Sahul occurred. We developed a stochastic, age-structured model using demographic rates from hunter-gatherer societies, and relative carrying capacity hindcasted with LOVECLIM’s net primary productivity for northern Sahul. We projected these populations to determine the resilience and minimum sizes required to avoid extinction. A census founding population of between 1,300 and 1,550 individuals was necessary to maintain a quasi-extinction threshold of ≲0.1. This minimum founding population could have arrived at a single point in time, or through multiple voyages of ≥130 people over ~700–900 years. This result shows that substantial population amalgamation in Sunda and Wallacea in Marine Isotope Stages 3–4 provided the conditions for the successful, large-scale and probably planned peopling of Sahul.
Lithic Technological Organization and Paleoenvironmental Change: Global and Diachronic Perspectives, 2018
The question of the origins of the microlithic in South Asia has been one that is
hotly debated i... more The question of the origins of the microlithic in South Asia has been one that is hotly debated in the last decade and a prominent topic within the scientific and public domain (Balter 2010; Appenzeller 2012). Two opposed models have invoked different mechanisms to explain the origins of the microlithic in India. These see the microlithic as either the signature of the arrival of Homo sapiens with essentially African Later Stone Age technology (Mellars 2006; Mellars et al. 2013; Mishra et al. 2013; Bar Yosef and Belfer Cohen 2013;) or the indigenous development of technologies suited to coping with increasing risk and uncertainty during periods of climatic variability and change (Clarkson et al. 2009; Petraglia et al. 2009a; Hiscock et al. 2011; Clarkson 2014).
Colonisation of Sahul 70-60 thousand years ago (kya) represents the first great maritime migratio... more Colonisation of Sahul 70-60 thousand years ago (kya) represents the first great maritime migration undertaken by anatomically modern humans in one of the final phases of the Out of Africa dispersal. Visual connectivity network analyses, agent-based simulations and ocean current modelling reveal that modern humans could follow numerous northern and southern migration pathways into Sahul. Our results support a southern route out of Africa through South Asia with entry into ISEA through the Banda Arc, culminating in an early colonisation of Sahul on the northwest shelf. Our results show multiple colonisation events through other entry points were also probable, and raise interesting possibilities for complex regional migration and population histories.
The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates a... more The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapi... more India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last ~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.
The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates a... more The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia's megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subseq...
The timing, context and nature of the first people to enter Sahul is still poorly understood owin... more The timing, context and nature of the first people to enter Sahul is still poorly understood owing to a fragmented archaeological record. However, quantifying the plausible demographic context of this founding population is essential to determine how and why the initial peopling of Sahul occurred. We developed a stochastic, age-structured model using demographic rates from hunter-gatherer societies, and relative carrying capacity hindcasted with LOVECLIM’s net primary productivity for northern Sahul. We projected these populations to determine the resilience and minimum sizes required to avoid extinction. A census founding population of between 1,300 and 1,550 individuals was necessary to maintain a quasi-extinction threshold of ≲0.1. This minimum founding population could have arrived at a single point in time, or through multiple voyages of ≥130 people over ~700–900 years. This result shows that substantial population amalgamation in Sunda and Wallacea in Marine Isotope Stages 3–4 provided the conditions for the successful, large-scale and probably planned peopling of Sahul.
Lithic Technological Organization and Paleoenvironmental Change: Global and Diachronic Perspectives, 2018
The question of the origins of the microlithic in South Asia has been one that is
hotly debated i... more The question of the origins of the microlithic in South Asia has been one that is hotly debated in the last decade and a prominent topic within the scientific and public domain (Balter 2010; Appenzeller 2012). Two opposed models have invoked different mechanisms to explain the origins of the microlithic in India. These see the microlithic as either the signature of the arrival of Homo sapiens with essentially African Later Stone Age technology (Mellars 2006; Mellars et al. 2013; Mishra et al. 2013; Bar Yosef and Belfer Cohen 2013;) or the indigenous development of technologies suited to coping with increasing risk and uncertainty during periods of climatic variability and change (Clarkson et al. 2009; Petraglia et al. 2009a; Hiscock et al. 2011; Clarkson 2014).
Colonisation of Sahul 70-60 thousand years ago (kya) represents the first great maritime migratio... more Colonisation of Sahul 70-60 thousand years ago (kya) represents the first great maritime migration undertaken by anatomically modern humans in one of the final phases of the Out of Africa dispersal. Visual connectivity network analyses, agent-based simulations and ocean current modelling reveal that modern humans could follow numerous northern and southern migration pathways into Sahul. Our results support a southern route out of Africa through South Asia with entry into ISEA through the Banda Arc, culminating in an early colonisation of Sahul on the northwest shelf. Our results show multiple colonisation events through other entry points were also probable, and raise interesting possibilities for complex regional migration and population histories.
The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates a... more The time of arrival of people in Australia is an unresolved question. It is relevant to debates about when modern humans first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000 years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapi... more India is located at a critical geographic crossroads for understanding the dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa and into Asia and Oceania. Here we report evidence for long-term human occupation, spanning the last ~80 thousand years, at the site of Dhaba in the Middle Son River Valley of Central India. An unchanging stone tool industry is found at Dhaba spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.
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Papers by Kasih Norman
hotly debated in the last decade and a prominent topic within the scientific and public
domain (Balter 2010; Appenzeller 2012). Two opposed models have invoked
different mechanisms to explain the origins of the microlithic in India. These see the
microlithic as either the signature of the arrival of Homo sapiens with essentially
African Later Stone Age technology (Mellars 2006; Mellars et al. 2013; Mishra
et al. 2013; Bar Yosef and Belfer Cohen 2013;) or the indigenous development of
technologies suited to coping with increasing risk and uncertainty during periods of
climatic variability and change (Clarkson et al. 2009; Petraglia et al. 2009a; Hiscock
et al. 2011; Clarkson 2014).
first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans
and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we
report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary
depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated
by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000
years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and
ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal
of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
Books by Kasih Norman
spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.
hotly debated in the last decade and a prominent topic within the scientific and public
domain (Balter 2010; Appenzeller 2012). Two opposed models have invoked
different mechanisms to explain the origins of the microlithic in India. These see the
microlithic as either the signature of the arrival of Homo sapiens with essentially
African Later Stone Age technology (Mellars 2006; Mellars et al. 2013; Mishra
et al. 2013; Bar Yosef and Belfer Cohen 2013;) or the indigenous development of
technologies suited to coping with increasing risk and uncertainty during periods of
climatic variability and change (Clarkson et al. 2009; Petraglia et al. 2009a; Hiscock
et al. 2011; Clarkson 2014).
first dispersed out of Africa and when their descendants incorporated genetic material from Neanderthals, Denisovans
and possibly other hominins. Humans have also been implicated in the extinction of Australia’s megafauna. Here we
report the results of new excavations conducted at Madjedbebe, a rock shelter in northern Australia. Artefacts in primary
depositional context are concentrated in three dense bands, with the stratigraphic integrity of the deposit demonstrated
by artefact refits and by optical dating and other analyses of the sediments. Human occupation began around 65,000
years ago, with a distinctive stone tool assemblage including grinding stones, ground ochres, reflective additives and
ground-edge hatchet heads. This evidence sets a new minimum age for the arrival of humans in Australia, the dispersal
of modern humans out of Africa, and the subsequent interactions of modern humans with Neanderthals and Denisovans.
spanning the Toba eruption of ~74 ka (i.e., the Youngest Toba Tuff, YTT) bracketed between ages of 79.6 ± 3.2 and 65.2 ± 3.1 ka, with the introduction of microlithic technology ~48 ka. The lithic industry from Dhaba strongly resembles stone tool assemblages from the African Middle Stone Age (MSA) and Arabia, and the earliest artefacts from Australia, suggesting that it is likely the product of Homo sapiens as they dispersed eastward out of Africa.