Humans settled in the ancient landmass, Sahul, that birthed Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea around 60,000 years ago, according to a new study. The findings challenge a theory held by some researchers, who posit that Sahul’s peopling began 47,000 to 51,000 years ago. Moreover, the work suggests population movements happened via two routes, contrary to what those in the “short chronology” camp theorize. Debate swirls about when humans reached Sahul. The “long chronology” group, which argues that dispersal began 60,000 to 65,000 years ago, relies on evidence from archaeological and radiometric dating. The “short chronology” group favors a later settlement date based on recent Y-chromosomal and mitochondrial DNA data. Now, Francesca Gandini and colleagues provide mitogenomic evidence that supports the long chronology proposal and identifies two distinct routes that humans took to reach Sahul. They analyzed 2,456 contemporary and already-published mitochondrial genomes from Indigenous populations in Australia, New Guinea, and Oceania. Using a molecular clock approach, they reconstructed an evolutionary tree. Gandini et al. compared the tree’s lineages with mitogenomic data from Southeast Asia. They also accounted for mutation rates, Y-chromosome variation, and genome-wide changes, additionally incorporating climate data and archaeological evidence. Most present-day lineages traced back to humans that took a northern route around 60,000 years ago. The other lineages came from humans who took a southern route. These results also corroborate archaeological and fossil records that indicate the main migration of humans out of Africa likely commenced around 73 to 89 million years ago. Of the study’s implications, the authors write: “We have addressed and refined a Western science narrative that supports the peopling of Sahul in deep time but acknowledges and respects the ontological perspective that many Indigenous people hold: ‘We have always been here.’”

The Maya Forest on the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico stands at the intersection of megaprojects and nature conservation. A new documentary film, SAKBE – Roads of Life in the Maya Forest, tells a story of biocultural diversity and about people, nature conservation and conflicts in an area where biodiversity is extraordinarily abundant. At the same time, the film offers a broader view of the future of the world’s supposedly remote regions.

New research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biolog revealed Indigenous aquaculture systems, such as fishponds, effectively shield fish populations from the negative impacts of climate change, demonstrating resilience and bolstering local food security.