Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

Lake Tandou Skull

In 1967 a skull from the Pleistocene was discovered in the Willandra Lakes region at Lake Tandou, 150 km northwest of Lake Mungo. It was on the surface of the lunette of the lake, in association with a shell midden. The shells dated to 15200 +/- 160 BP.

The skull was closely associated with a shell midden that has been dated to 15,000 +/- 160 BP.  It is believed to be a man about 20-25 years old (Leonard Freedman & Marcel Lonfgren). The cranium was considered similar to skulls from Lake Nitchie and Keilor in overall 'size' and 'shape', but the Kow Swamp 1 is of markedly different 'shape' and 'size' from the other 3 skulls. Each of the 4 skulls are markedly different in equal proportions from those of recent skulls of Murray Valley people in 'size' and 'shape'. (Leonard Freedman & Marcel Lonfgren). According to Freedman & Lofgren, "Tandou fits the 'gracile' group well but its cranial vault bones are very thick, as are those of the so-called 'robust' crania".

Sources & Further reading

1. Josephine Flood, 2004, Archaeology of the Dreamtime, J.B. Publishing