Sahul Shelf
The Sahul Shelf is the shallow continental seabed between Australia and New Guinea, exposed as dry land when sea levels fell during ice ages.
Last Glacial Maximum: The most recent interval when global ice sheets reached their greatest extent, about 26,500 to 19,000 years ago. Low sea levels during this glacial peak exposed large areas of the shelf.
Sahul: The Pleistocene landmass formed when Australia, New Guinea, and nearby islands were joined by low sea levels. The exposed shelf linked the land areas that together made up Sahul.
Cape York Peninsula: A peninsula at the northern tip of Queensland, Australia, between the Gulf of Carpentaria and Coral Sea. It formed the Australian side of the former land connection across Torres Strait.
Submerged prehistory: The study of human activity on landscapes now underwater because of sea-level rise or other environmental change. Rising seas inundated sites and routes across the Sahul Shelf.
Eustatic sea-level change: A change in global mean sea level caused by shifts in the volume of ocean water or the capacity of ocean basins. Global sea-level fall, rather than tectonic uplift, exposed the shelf.
Human migration to Australia: The prehistoric movement of humans into the Australian continent from islands to its north. Exposed routes across the shelf shaped the final stages of settlement within Sahul.
Gulf of Carpentaria: A shallow sea enclosed by northern Australia and bounded to the north by the Arafura Sea. At low sea levels, much of its basin became dry land within the exposed shelf.
Underwater archaeology: The archaeological study of human remains and cultural material found beneath water. It offers methods for investigating drowned sites on the former shelf.
Continental shelf: The submerged, gently sloping edge of a continent, extending from the coast to the continental slope. The Sahul Shelf is a regional example of this underwater landform.
Aboriginal Australians: The Indigenous peoples of mainland Australia and their diverse cultures, languages, and histories. Ancestors of Aboriginal Australians lived in landscapes that included the exposed shelf.