Hiscock, PeterSterelny, Kim2025-05-232025-05-2397810325478249781040046722http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85211874702&partnerID=8YFLogxKhttps://hdl.handle.net/1885/733751792Humans arrived in the ice age continent of Australia and New Guinea some 50,000–70,000 years ago. This chapter examines the arrival and dispersal of forager populations across the central and southern portions of the landmass. Over time population size increased and people spread. Adaptations to different landscapes involved development of regionally different economies, technologies, and cultural systems. Early sites display behavioural diversification and novelty resulting from somewhat independent evolutionary trajectories within the continent.13enPublisher Copyright: © 2025 selection and editorial matter, Takeshi Ueki, Glenn R. Summerhayes, and Peter Hiscock; individual chapters, the contributors. All rights reserved.2024-01-0110.4324/9781003427483-785211874702