Kow Swamp

Kow Swamp

Exhibit item

Site: 

Kow Swamp, Australia

Date of discovery: 

1967

Discovered by: 

Alan Thorne and Phillip Macumber

Age: 

About 13,000 - 9,000 years old

Species: 

Homo sapiens

Modern humans reach Australia

Although archaeological evidence dates back to at least 50,000 years ago,the oldest known human skeletal remains in Australia are about 40,000 years old. This 13,000 - 9,000 year old Homo sapiens skull from Kow Swamp has a more rugged build than earlier skulls.

Image Credit: James Di Loreto, Donald H. Hurlbert, & Jennifer Hill, Smithsonian Institution