Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40523959›Full record

ArticleNature human behaviour2025

The earliest evidence of high-elevation ice age occupation in Australia.

Amy M Way, Philip J Piper, Rebecca Chalker, Dominic Wilkins, Erin Wilkins, Leanne Watson Redpath, Paul Glass, Marilyn Rose Carroll, Emily Nutman, Nina Kononenko and 4 more

Abstract readHistorical Article
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature human behaviour, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

14 authors.

Amy M WayDiscipline of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. amy.way@sydney.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8896-1815
Philip J PiperSchool of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9494-4341
Rebecca ChalkerDharawal Environment and Heritage, Tahmoor, New South Wales, Australia.
Dominic WilkinsDharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation, Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
Erin WilkinsDharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation, Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0009-0007-5030-4415
Leanne Watson RedpathDharug Custodian Aboriginal Corporation, Windsor, New South Wales, Australia.
Paul GlassBlue Mountains Aboriginal Community, Wentworth Falls, New South Wales, Australia.
Marilyn Rose CarrollCorroboree Aboriginal Corporation, Rouse Hill, New South Wales, Australia.
Emily NutmanDepartment of Archaeology and Natural History, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Nina KononenkoDiscipline of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Michael SpateDepartment of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2844-735X
Timothy T BarrowsChronos Radiocarbon Laboratory, University of New South Wales Sydney, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia.
Duncan WrightSchool of Archaeology and Anthropology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia.
Wayne BrennanDiscipline of Archaeology, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

Australian Museum Foundation 1495
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Australia's Eastern Highlands have traditionally been viewed as a cold-climate barrier to Late Pleistocene (~35,000-11,700 years ago) mobility, with older evidence restricted to elevations below the periglacial zone. However, this model has not been adequately tested with regionally specific, high-resolution archaeological data. Here we report excavation results from a high-altitude (1,073 m) cave, Dargan Shelter, in the upper Blue Mountains, which indicate that occupation first occurred ~20,000 years ago, during the Last Glacial Maximum, making this the highest elevation Pleistocene site identified in Australia so far. Findings include multiple in situ hearths and 693 stone artefacts, several of which were sourced from sites along the mountain range, providing evidence for previously undetected interactions to the north and south and the repeated use of this cold-climate landscape during the Late Pleistocene. Our results align the Australian continent with global sequences, which indicate that cold climates were not necessarily natural barriers to human mobility and occupation.

Indexed as

AltitudeArchaeologyHuman MigrationAustraliaHistory, AncientHumans

Identifiers

PMID40523959
PMCPMC12727511

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.