Researchers excavating Dargan Shelter, a rock shelter located about 1,073 metres above sea level in the Blue Mountains, uncovered 693 stone artefacts and in situ hearths that date back to around 20,000 years ago — during the Last Glacial Maximum — when the area was much colder and seasonally frozen over. These finds include cutting and scraping tools and a grinding slab that suggest repeated human activity over thousands of years, providing clear evidence that people were adapting to and living in environments once thought too harsh for early inhabitants.
The discovery overturns earlier assumptions that high‑elevation regions in Australia were uninhabited during the Ice Age, showing instead that people were capable of surviving and moving through cold, rugged landscapes deep into the Pleistocene. The site fills a gap in the archaeological record by demonstrating sustained occupation above the periglacial zone, where few other artefacts had been found.
Importantly, this evidence was found in a chance archaeological investigation rather than a planned survey, underscoring how many ancient sites may still lie undiscovered across Australia’s vast and varied terrain.
The project was conducted by archaeologists from the Australian Museum, the University of Sydney, and the Australian National University in collaboration with First Nations community members who hold cultural ties to the Blue Mountains region. Their work highlights long‑term Aboriginal occupation and adaptation to diverse environments long before European settlement.
While other sites such as Madjedbebe and Nauwalabila I indicate human presence in Australia over 50,000 years ago, Dargan Shelter is notable for being the oldest confirmed high‑altitude Ice Age occupation on the continent, offering new insight into the mobility and resilience of ancient peoples.
Overall, this accidental cave find contributes to a deeper understanding of early human history in Australia, adding rich detail to how Indigenous ancestors lived, moved, and thrived across challenging landscapes tens of thousands of years ago.
