A study published in mid-August found that humans were skilled enough to traverse the Pacific Ocean some 50,000 years ago.

Researchers working in the enormous limestone Mololo Cave on Waigeo Island in West Papua uncovered several layers of human occupation within the structure, according to a study published in Antiquity. Stone artifacts, animal bones, shells and charcoal represent discarded remains of ancient humans dating up to 55,000 years ago. One of the key findings of a type of tree resin manufactured at the time, the first time its ever been found outside of Africa.

The use of the resin suggests humans were developing complex skill sets well outside of Africa. Though the use of the resin is unknown, researchers suggest it could have been fuel for fires and shows the adaptability of our ancestors to new environments. Plant processing and various types of tropical and coastal ecological engagement were noted, representing a previously unknown range in human capability and dispersal at the time.

Humans were living near West Papua at least 55,000 years ago, study finds https://t.co/LDCGS1K8S1

— Live Science (@LiveScience) August 25, 2024

The researchers seem to have based their study on the single origin model, which states modern humans all originated in Africa roughly 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, rather than parallel development of humans in different environments globally (multiregional model).

“The Mololo excavation helps us to clarify the precise time humans moved into the Pacific. This timing is hotly debated because it has major implications for how rapidly our species dispersed out of Africa to Asia and Oceania,” the authors wrote in a Live Science article. (RELATED: Archaeological Discoveries Are Rewriting What We Know Of Neanderthals)

If the single origin model of human dispersal is true, the study authors developed a hypothetical route through the northern passages of the Indian Ocean (which may have also looked very different 50,000 years ago), with humans migrating down to West Papua and then on to Australia, rather than the other way around. Either way, the study lends to the growing data suggesting our ancient ancestors were far more developed than Big Archaeology typically gives them credit for.