New DNA Evidence Challenges Aboriginal Land Rights Ideology in Australia, By Brian Simpson

A groundbreaking genetic study published in Archaeology in Oceania:

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/arco.70002

by researchers from the University of Utah and La Trobe University has upended the long-standing belief that humans arrived in Australia around 65,000 years ago. By analysing Neanderthal DNA in modern human populations, the study establishes that interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans occurred between 43,500 and 51,500 years ago in Europe. Since Indigenous Australians, like all non-African populations, carry this Neanderthal DNA, the research suggests that human colonisation of Sahul, the ancient supercontinent encompassing Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania, could not have occurred before 50,000 years ago. This finding not only reshapes our understanding of human migration but also poses a significant challenge to a key ideological foundation of land rights claims in Australia: the notion of uninterrupted Indigenous occupation since time immemorial.

The Scientific Shift: A Revised Timeline

For decades, the narrative of human arrival in Australia has centered on a 65,000-year timeline, supported by archaeological evidence such as stone tools and megafauna remains. This timeline has been a cornerstone of Indigenous cultural identity, often invoked to assert deep historical ties to the land. However, the new DNA evidence provides a compelling counterargument. The presence of Neanderthal DNA in Indigenous Australians, inherited from interbreeding events in Europe, sets a hard limit on the timing of their ancestors' migration. If modern humans left Africa and interbred with Neanderthals no earlier than 51,500 years ago, their subsequent journey to Sahul could not have occurred much before 50,000 years ago. This compresses the timeline of human occupation in Australia by at least 15,000 years, calling into question the narrative of an ancient, unbroken connection to the land.

Implications for Land Rights Ideology

Land rights activism in Australia often rests on the claim that Indigenous peoples have occupied the continent for 65,000 years or more, framing their connection to the land as uniquely ancient and continuous. This narrative has been politically powerful, underpinning legal frameworks like the Native Title Act 1993, which recognises Indigenous land rights based on traditional connection to country. Courts and policymakers have frequently accepted the 65,000-year timeline as a given, reinforcing the moral and legal weight of Indigenous claims. However, the new genetic evidence disrupts this foundation by suggesting a significantly shorter period of occupation.

This revised timeline does not negate the deep cultural and spiritual ties Indigenous Australians have to their land, just as white Australians have as well. However, it challenges the ideological assertion that Indigenous land rights are uniquely justified by an unparalleled antiquity of occupation. If human arrival in Australia occurred closer to 50,000 years ago or less, the temporal gap between Indigenous occupation and other global human migrations narrows, potentially weakening the argument that Indigenous claims are exceptional based on their duration.

A Call for Critical Discussion

The study's findings invite a broader conversation about the basis of land rights. While the shorter timeline may unsettle some ideological assumptions, it does not undermine the validity of Indigenous cultural connections. Instead, it emphasises the need to ground land rights arguments in more robust and diverse foundations, cultural continuity, historical marginalisation, and contemporary community ties, rather than relying solely on a contested archaeological timeline.

The recent DNA study published in Archaeology in Oceania forces a re-examination of one of the central planks of land rights ideology in Australia: the claim of 65,000 years of continuous Indigenous occupation. By establishing that humans likely arrived in Sahul no earlier than 50,000 years ago, the research challenges the narrative of exceptional antiquity that has long underpinned Indigenous land claims.