Archaeologists from the Australian Museum and leading Australian universities in collaboration with First Nations community members have discovered Australia’s oldest cave occupied by humans during the ice age.
The cave known as the ‘Dargan Shelter’ was found in the Blue Mountains of NSW dating back over 20,000 years. Situated at an altitude of 1072m, the discovery provides new evidence for human activity during the ice age that was previously thought too inhospitable for survival due to the cold climate at a high elevation.
Stone tools and a sandstone grinding slab that may have been used for shaping wooden instruments such as needles or bone points for spear tips were among the human artefacts found within the cave. It is theorised that the Dargan Shelter may have been used as a meeting place or a ceremonial site for Indigenous groups crossing the mountain ranges.
Today the Dharug, Wiradjuri, Gomeroi, Darkinjung, Dharawal, Wonnarua and Guidinger groups hold traditional connections to this region.
Image: Dargan Shelter, Blue Mountains – Credit: Dr Amy Way
Produced By: Maeve Groom
Featured In Story: Dr Amy Mosig Way – Research Archaeologist from the Discipline of Archaeology at the University of Sydney and the Australian Museum
First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 18 June 2025