Editing Timeline of Australian history (section)

== Pre-written history ==

{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Date
!Event
|-
|{{Circa|48,000–63,000 BC}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|The ancestors of [[Aboriginal Australians]] began arriving from south-east Asia 50,000 to 65,000 years ago, during the [[Last Glacial Period|last glacial period]].<ref name="ClarksonJacobs2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Clarkson |first1=Chris |last2=Jacobs |first2=Zenobia |last3=Marwick |first3=Ben |last4=Fullagar |first4=Richard |last5=Wallis |first5=Lynley |last6=Smith |first6=Mike |last7=Roberts |first7=Richard G. |last8=Hayes |first8=Elspeth |last9=Lowe |first9=Kelsey |last10=Carah |first10=Xavier |last11=Florin |first11=S. Anna |last12=McNeil |first12=Jessica |last13=Cox |first13=Delyth |last14=Arnold |first14=Lee J. |last15=Hua |first15=Quan |year=2017 |title=Human occupation of northern Australia by 65,000 years ago |journal=Nature |volume=547 |issue=7663 |pages=306–310 |bibcode=2017Natur.547..306C |doi=10.1038/nature22968 |issn=0028-0836 |pmid=28726833 |s2cid=205257212 |hdl-access=free |last16=Huntley |first16=Jillian |last17=Brand |first17=Helen E. A. |last18=Manne |first18=Tiina |last19=Fairbairn |first19=Andrew |last20=Shulmeister |first20=James |last21=Lyle |first21=Lindsey |last22=Salinas |first22=Makiah |last23=Page |first23=Mara |last24=Connell |first24=Kate |last25=Park |first25=Gayoung |last26=Norman |first26=Kasih |last27=Murphy |first27=Tessa |last28=Pardoe |first28=Colin |hdl=2440/107043}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=Martin A. J. |last2=Spooner |first2=Nigel A. |last3=McDonnell |first3=Kathryn |last4=O'Connell |first4=James F. |date=January 2021 |title=Identifying disturbance in archaeological sites in tropical northern Australia: Implications for previously proposed 65,000-year continental occupation date |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gea.21822 |journal=Geoarchaeology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=92–108 |doi=10.1002/gea.21822 |bibcode=2021Gearc..36...92W |issn=0883-6353 |s2cid=225321249|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Arriving by sea, they settled the continent and had formed approximately 250 distinct language groups by the time of European settlement, maintaining some of the longest known continuing [[Aboriginal Art|artistic]] and [[The Dreaming|religious traditions]] in the world.<ref name="ReferenceB">[The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}</ref>
|-
|{{Circa|2000 BC}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|The [[Torres Strait Islanders|Torres Strait Islander]] people first settled [[Torres Strait Islands]] around 4000 years ago.<ref>The Story of Australia's People, Volume 1: The Rise and Fall of Ancient Australia, Penguin Books Australia Ltd., Vic., 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-6700-7871-4}}, p.87</ref> Culturally and linguistically distinct from [[Mainland Australia|mainland]] Aboriginal peoples, they were seafarers and obtained their livelihood from seasonal horticulture and the resources of their reefs and seas.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Viegas |first=Jennifer |date=3 July 2008 |title=Early Aussie Tattoos Match Rock Art |url=http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080710014604/http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2008/07/03/australia-tattoos-art.html |archive-date=10 July 2008 |access-date=30 March 2010 |publisher=Discovery News}}</ref>
|-
|{{Centre|–}}
|{{Centre|–}}
|In 1944, nine coins were found on [[Marchinbar Island]], the largest [[island]] in the [[Wessel Islands]] of the [[Northern Territory of Australia]]. While four coins were identified as Dutch [[Duit|duits]] dating from 1690 to the 1780s, five with Arabic inscriptions were identified as being from the [[Kilwa Sultanate]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=McIntosh |first=Ian S. |year=2012 |title=Life and Death on the Wessel Islands: The Case of Australia's Mysterious African Coin Cache |url=http://www.pastmasters.net/uploads/2/6/7/5/26751978/australian_folklore_paper_im.pdf |journal=Australian Folklore |volume=27 |pages=9–26}}</ref> The coins are now held by the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, Australia.<ref>{{cite web |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |title=Coin, Kilwa Sultanate (East Africa), Falus, copper alloy, Sulaiman ibn al-Hasan (c. AD 1294–1308). |url=https://ma.as/305390 |access-date=4 September 2020 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}</ref> In 2018 another coin, also thought to be from Kilwa, was found on a beach on [[Elcho Island]], another of the [[Wessel Islands]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Stevenson |first=Kylie |date=11 May 2019 |title='It could change everything': coin found off northern Australia may be from pre-1400 Africa |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/may/12/it-could-change-everything-coin-found-off-northern-australia-may-be-from-pre-1400-africa |access-date=11 May 2019 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
|}