Ancient Genomes Reveal Humans Reached Northern Australia ~60,000 Years Ago via Two Seafaring Routes

New genomic analysis supports an early arrival and dual migration routes into Sahul

A comprehensive genetic study of 2,456 ancient and modern genomes finds that modern humans had settled northern Australia by about 60,000 years ago and that they arrived by at least two distinct maritime routes. The research, published in Science Advances on Nov. 28, draws on a large and diverse dataset of mitochondrial and Y‑chromosome markers from Aboriginal Australians and other Oceanian populations to reconstruct the timing and pathways of the Sunda-to-Sahul dispersal.

Methods and evidence

The authors applied molecular-clock approaches and multiple statistical models to estimate when lineages diverged. Molecular-clock methods use the relatively steady accumulation of DNA mutations to infer dates of separation between populations. Analyses of both maternally inherited mitochondrial DNA and paternally inherited Y-chromosome markers converged on an arrival in northern Australia of roughly 60,000 years ago.

Two distinct entry routes

Genetic patterns indicate two contemporaneous settlement streams into Sahul: one originating from southern Sunda via the Indonesian islands and another from northern Sunda (the Philippine archipelago). According to the study, these groups were originally part of a shared population that left Africa around 70,000–80,000 years ago and likely diverged during eastward dispersal across South or Southeast Asia—perhaps 10,000–20,000 years before they reached Sahul.

"This is the most comprehensive genetic study to date addressing this question," said study co-author Martin Richards, an archaeogeneticist at the University of Huddersfield. "Our models align with a 'long chronology' for Australia, with settlement of northern Australia around 60,000 years ago."

Interactions with archaic hominins

The genetic evidence also points to probable admixture between these early modern human groups and regional archaic hominins. Candidate taxa include Homo longi, H. luzonensis and the small-bodied H. floresiensis; however, the extent and evolutionary significance of these interactions remain uncertain and require further study.

Implications for Indigenous history and seafaring

Researchers emphasize that the results underscore the deep antiquity of Aboriginal Australian and New Guinean ancestries—among the oldest continuous lineages outside Africa. Co-author Helen Farr, an archaeologist at the University of Southampton, noted that the findings corroborate long-term Indigenous connections to both land and sea, and highlight that seafaring skills—often absent from the archaeological record—were critical to the initial peopling of Sahul.

Independent archaeologist Adam Brumm (Griffith University) commented that the study strengthens the case for the "long chronology" (around 60,000 years ago) and for the importance of early maritime capabilities in shaping human dispersal into Sahul.

What remains unresolved

While this large genetic dataset brings clarity to timing and routes, open questions remain about the scale and timing of admixture with archaic hominins, the precise coastal and island pathways taken, and how those movements correlate with the archaeological record in different parts of Southeast Asia and Sahul. Future research combining ancient genomes, archaeology and paleoenvironmental data will refine the picture further.