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Editor's note
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50 years ago on the shores of Lake Mungo, geologist Jim Bowler stumbled across some of the most significant human remains in the world. The 40,000 year old Mungo Lady was a fully modern human, proving Aboriginal history stretched back to a time when the only humans in Europe were Neanderthals, and people had not yet reached America.
The discovery pushed Australia’s human story back into truly deep time, transforming the national conversation around Indigenous heritage.
Today Jim Bowler recounts his journey towards this extraordinary discovery – and the work yet to be done. And in a striking essay, three academics from different disciplines explain how the discovery sparked a new approach to research, drawing together archaeologists, environmental scientists and traditional owners to uncover Australia’s epic past.
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Madeleine De Gabriele
Deputy Editor: Energy + Environment
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Top story
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It’s been 50 years since the find of burnt bones in ancient soil, eroded from deep in shoreline dune in NSW.
Jim Bowler
Jim Bowler, University of Melbourne
It's been half a century since Jim Bowler discovered Mungo Lady which changed the course of Australian history. But now he says the find has fallen off the national radar, leaving a legacy of shame.
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Environment + Energy
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Richard 'Bert' Roberts, University of Wollongong; Lynette Russell, Monash University; Michael Bird, James Cook University
On the golden jubilee of the discovery of Mungo Lady's 40,000-year-old remains, we can reflect on Aboriginal Australia's vast history, which predates the arrival of Homo sapiens in both Europe and America.
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Science + Technology
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Jason Gilchrist, Edinburgh Napier University
Scientists have created embryos from the eggs of southern white rhino and sperm from their northern counterparts.
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Politics + Society
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Mark Alfano, Delft University of Technology
Why are we so serious about not being too serious? The philosophy of humour has the answer.
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Jarryd Bartle, RMIT University
Australian laws are less progressive than the Australian public's attitude to cannabis in term of decriminalisation, access to medicinal marijuana, and to some extent, full legislation.
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Arts + Culture
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Saskia Beudel, University of Canberra
Climate change can seem far removed from our everyday lives, which is why a citizen science program measuring how frogs are dealing with a warming world is so important.
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Health + Medicine
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Giovanni Mandarano, Deakin University
There are many different types of medical imaging and they all pick up different things.
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Ian Musgrave, University of Adelaide
The study only showed a correlation between drinking coffee and living longer, but it's still plausible coffee caused the effect.
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Business + Economy
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Andrew Linden, RMIT University; Warren Staples, RMIT University
Splitting company boards and allowing employees to elect board members are just the start of the reforms needed to fix corporate governance.
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Michelle Grattan, University of Canberra
To make a concession to the coal lobby would flout the technology-neutral foundation of the NEG and have much more serious implications than throwing in some money to boost the GST pool.
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Levon Ellen Blue, Queensland University of Technology
We are seeing widespread financial exploitation because of cultural, economic and political factors that haven't been addressed. Regulators should do more.
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Education
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Dominic O'Sullivan, Charles Sturt University
When it comes to teaching Indigenous students, Australia could learn much from New Zealand.
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Featured jobs
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University of Melbourne — Parkville, Victoria
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Featured events
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192 Wellington Parade, Melbourne, Victoria, 3002, Australia — Association for Sustainability in Business
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221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria, 3125, Australia — Deakin University
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409 Hunter Street, NEWCASTLE, New South Wales, 2300, Australia — University of Newcastle
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