Fast Facts
- Divers found 21 stone tools at two submerged sites off northwestern Australia—land that disappeared under rising seas about 9,000 years ago.
- At a freshwater spring, nearly half the tools were made from stone carried 14 miles away, suggesting people gathered there with supplies.
- A nearby rocky knoll held only local-stone tools, pointing to its possible use as a quarry.
- The tools can’t yet be dated precisely, but Indigenous Rangers helped uncover them—and the finds show Murujuga’s cultural landscape extends into Sea Country.
A coastline beneath the water
Divers recovered 21 stone tools from two underwater sites off northwestern Australia. Rising seas covered both places after the last Ice Age, as the shoreline moved inland.
One site centers on a freshwater spring, now about 40 feet underwater. Nearly half its tools came from volcanic rock that people likely carried about 14 miles. That effort suggests people traveled across a landscape that now lies beneath the sea.
Different places, different purposes
The spring may have drawn people who brought tools from elsewhere. By contrast, all 12 tools at a nearby rocky knoll came from local stone. The knoll may have served as a quarry beside a river.
Researchers cannot date the tools directly. The sites went underwater roughly 9,000 to 10,000 years ago, so that offers a minimum age, not a precise date. The tools could be much older.
Indigenous rangers joined the dives and helped identify artifacts. Their role also underscores a key point: First Peoples’ cultural landscapes extend beyond today’s shoreline.
Promise—and limits—beneath the waves
These finds show how underwater archaeology can recover parts of human history that rising seas erased from the map. However, divers must sort artifacts from ordinary rocks, and the seabed offers no clear layers for dating. The small sample also leaves room for uncertainty.
Still, the approach could guide future surveys in other drowned landscapes. Better equipment and faster ways to identify tools may help researchers explore deeper sites. For now, the discoveries connect everyday choices—finding fresh water, sourcing stone and moving across country—to a much longer human journey.
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