Ancient Australia
The land bridge between Australia and New Guinea was blocked by rising sea levels about 8,000 years ago. The people of Australia and New Guinea are closely related by DNA. DNA evidence shows that the Australian Aborigines belong to the modern humans who left Africa between 50,000 and 70,000 years ago. Research shows that the Australian Aborigines were part of a group that left Africa 24,000 years before the groups that settled in Europe and Asia. This makes them one of the oldest indigenous peoples outside Africa. The DNA also shows that most migration to Australia stopped about 50,000 years ago, and the people here developed in isolation to the rest of the world. Whilst there there is an absence of empirical evidence that demonstrates a continuity of culture as opposed to a continuity of presence, the Australian Aboriginal population is likely one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world. Many Aboriginal stories from northern Australia say that the people came to Australia from across the sea.