ForumGarden

Apparently the previous educated guess was 47-60,000 years ago; now new findings have pushed the date back to 65,000 years ago. Lots of implications, including for the date humans first left Africa.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-australia-40651473

This new date does depend on a technique called Optically Stimulated Luminescence. It's been around a few years I think (I seem to recall it was used to date one of the White Horses carved into the hillside here in England) but I'm not sure how reliable or how accurate the technique is.

Clodhopper;1511056 wrote: Lots of implications, including for the date humans first left Africa.


I can't see why. It would change the rate at which they traveled but the previous rate was snail-like.

I'd trust the technique and the finding unless someone shows me a reason not to.

Shunting the date back is always a big deal, I would say. And do I accept the dating of the OSL it's just that there's always a possibility of error which I'm also noting (I seem to remember that adjustments were made early in the carbon dating process as the technique was refined...) especially when we are dealing with only one site.

I think the 18,000 years is an unhelpful comment. They put the end of the previous date range back 5,000 years from 60,000 to 65,000. I don't think that's extreme.

Doesn't matter anyway. It's location is secret the bodies are to be reburied and the artifacts we'll never see .

but as long as we know more about Africa I suppose.