The prehistory of Australia is the period between the first human habitation of the Australian continent and the first definitive sighting of Australia by Europeans in 1606, which marks the start of consistent documentation of Australia. This period is estimated to have lasted between 40,000 and 60,000 years. This era is referred to as prehistory rather than history because of the scarcity of written records of human events in Australia which pre-date this contact. The minimum widely-accepted timeframe for the arrival of humans in Australia is placed at least 40,000 years ago. Many sites... dating from this time period have been excavated. Archaeological evidence indicates human habitation at the upper Swan River, Western Australia by about 40,000 years ago. Tasmania, which was connected to the continent by a land bridge, was inhabited at least 30,000 years ago. Others have claimed that some sites are up to 60,000 years old, but these claims are not universally accepted. Palynological evidence from South Eastern Australia suggests an increase in fire activity dating from around 120,000 years ago.
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