Megafauna Indigenous art

A newly discovered Aboriginal cave painting depicts a species of giant emu-like bird known to have become extinct some 40,000 years ago, making it potentially Australia's oldest art.

Scientists have identified it as likely to be two examples of the species Genyornis, one of the so-called 'megafauna' very large species that all died out around the same time people came to dominate Australia.

Palaeontologists believe that the details shown in the art could not have been passed down through oral history, so the birds either co-existed with people over 40,000 years ago, or the species lasted a lot longer than previously thought.

There's been a lot of debate lately about the potential linkages between megafauna extinctions and the rise of people in Australia.

Oddly it seems to be taken by some as a slight on current-day Indigenous peoples that their ancestors of some 40,000 years ago could have hunted the megafauna to extinction. It's the nature of humans, irrespective of skin colour, to overdo it. We are doing it right now, and we have a far better world view than we ever had. Why is it unreasonable to think that a race with quite near horizons would do any different? It's not like they were Na'vi...