Ancient Humans Resided in East Timor 44,000 Years Ago, Archaeologists Reveal

Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of ancient human habitation in East Timor dating back 44,000 years, shedding new light on the region’s rich cultural heritage, Al Jazeera reported today.

A team of researchers from Australian and UK universities excavated a deep cave in northern East Timor, known as the Laili rock shelter, and found thousands of stone artefacts and animal bones indicating that the area was inhabited by ancient humans 35,000 years before Egyptians built the first pyramids.

The analysis of sediment samples from the cave, as well as other locations in East Timor, revealed an “arrival signature” suggesting that humans were not present in the area before this point of time.

This contradicts previous beliefs about the timeline of human settlement in the region, which also includes the neighboring islands of Indonesia and Australia – home to some of the oldest archaeological findings worldwide.

As researchers continue to explore this culturally rich region, the need to protect these invaluable ancient heritage sites has become increasingly urgent.

East Timor, also known as Timor-Leste, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia.