Oldest plant artefact found outside Africa reveals Pacific's role in early human migration

A new archaeological study led by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Universitas Gadjah Mada has identified the oldest plant artefact made by our species outside of Africa in a cave in West Papua. This suggests that the earliest Pacific seafarers arrived in West Papua over 55,000–50,000 years ago, introducing to the region complex plant processing and maritime skills. The findings have been published this week in the journal Antiquity.