Skull find may rewrite history of Australia_美文

Skull find may rewrite history of Australia

"Using them (the dates) together we can do some modeling as to what we expect the calendar age to be ... and the way it works out by using those two dates is that we get about an 80percent probability that the person was born somewhere around the 1650s and died somewhere between 1660 and 1700," Fallon said.

He said there was a 20 percent probability the skull, which was found well-preserved and intact without any other remains near the Manning River, belonged to someone born between1780 to 1790 who died between 1805 and 1810.

"Before we rewrite the history of European settlement we have to consider a number of issues, particularly the circumstances of the discovery," archaeologist Adam Ford told the Telegraph.

"The fact the skull is in good condition and found alone could easily point to it coming from a private collection and skulls were very popular with collectors in the 19th century."

Cassie Mercer, editor of Australia And New Zealand Inside History, said the skull "could be an incredible find".

"I guess it's a very exciting find because it could open up a whole lot of avenues of history that we haven't been able to explore before," she said.

Dutch explorers made the earliest European landings in Cape York in Australia's far north and Western Australia in the 1600s.

About the broadcaster:

Lance Crayon is a videographer and editor with China Daily. Since living in Beijing he has worked for China Radio International (CRI) and Global Times. Before moving to China he worked in the film industry in Los Angeles as a talent agent and producer. He has a B.A. in English from the University of Texas at Arlington.