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Earliest archaeological evidence of the First Peoples at dates from this time; the artefacts are from Madjedbebe in the Northern Territory
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Mungo Lady and Mungo Man lived at this time in the Willandra Lakes Region, a World Heritage area of NSW
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First Peoples live through the coldest parts of the Ice Age in places like Kutikina Cave in Tasmania
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Peak of the Ice Age; climate was dry and there was little rain, which made the deserts of Australia much larger. Australia is joined by nearby land masses (New Guinea and Tasmania) by ‘land bridges’.
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Australia’s coastline begins to be changed as ice sheets covering Earth begin to melt. New Gunia and Tasmania are separated from mainland Australia
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Climate settled into a pattern broadly similar to present-day Australia
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Sea levels rise 100 metres and extensive plains of the NT are inundated (flooded). Rising sea levels had a big impact on societies, with numerous First Peoples’ oral histories preserving the details of coastal flooding
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Evidence of stone houses from this time have been found in Dampier Archipelago, WA
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Evidence of the arrival of dingo and the extinction of Tasmanian tiger on mainland Australia
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Makassan peoples from Indonesia begin to visit northern Australia on seasonal basis, trading with Aboriginal people on the mainland.