Australian researchers from the University of Sydney have mapped the Sahula continent, a landmass that once connected what is now mainland Australia to Papua New Guinea and Tasmania. Over time, like the fabled Atlantis, these connections were swallowed by rising seas. The findings appear in a major scientific journal.
The study explores Sahul, a vast Pleistocene land and sea corridor that existed about 70 thousand years ago during the last ice age. Global glaciers lowered sea levels, exposing shelves that linked Australia to the north and Tasmania to the south.
Determining the timing of these landscapes helps illuminate how ancient people moved across Sahul. Researchers conducted thousands of simulations to infer the most plausible routes used by early settlers, factoring in terrain and food resources.
The research indicates that movement occurred both along the coastline and inland, with travelers following major rivers and streams through Sahul.
The modeled scenarios paint a picture of life in Sahul, a region that today supports a population in the hundreds of thousands as current estimates suggest.
The team proposes that archaeological sites created by early humans might still lie preserved on the seafloor in areas that were once shallow coastal zones.
Earlier historians associated the legendary Welsh Atlantis with medieval maps, a parallel that echoes the way Sahul represents an ancient connection now submerged by time and tide.