New evidence from Fraser Cave for glacial age man in south-west Tasmania

Abstract

The discovery of a rich archaeological occupation site in the Franklin River valley of south-west Tasmania dated at 15–20 kyr BP is described. The stone tools found support the view that the Tasmanian industries were derived from contemporary mainland Australian ones when the two were still connected. Faunal remains from human hunting and cooking activities indicate a hunting strategy targetted at a few favoured species, especially the large wallaby. No extinct megafaunal species were present. During the height of the last ice age, these glacier edge hunters of southern Tasmania were then the most southerly humans on Earth.