Mike W. Morley – The Conversation

View of the Lailea River from on top of the hill containing Laili rockshelter. Mike Morley

May 22, 2024

A rare find in ancient Timorese mud may rewrite the history of human settlement in Australasia

Mike W. Morley, Flinders University; Ceri Shipton, UCL; Dr Kasih Norman, Griffith University; Shimona Kealy, Australian National University, and Sue O'Connor, Australian National University

New evidence from Laili rockshelter on Timor hints at a rapid, large-scale human arrival 44,000 years ago.

Themba Hadebe / AP

November 30, 2023

Controversial claims about extinct humans are stirring up evolution research. Here’s how the mess could have been avoided

Mike W. Morley, Flinders University; Andy I.R. Herries, La Trobe University; Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, University of Adelaide; Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University, and Vito C. Hernandez

How, when and where did modern humans evolve? Nobody has all the answers, but studying rock and dirt can put the debate on firmer footing.

Kira Westaway

June 13, 2023

Bones, the ‘Cave of the Monkeys’ and 86,000 years of history: new evidence pushes back the timing of human arrival in Southeast Asia

Kira Westaway, Macquarie University; Meghan McAllister-Hayward; Mike W. Morley, Flinders University; Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University, and Vito C. Hernandez

New evidence from contested Laos cave site shows humans reached Southeast Asia at least 68,000 years ago.

Fabrice Demeter (University of Copenhagen / CNRS Paris)

May 17, 2022

A fossil tooth places enigmatic ancient humans in Southeast Asia

Kira Westaway, Macquarie University; Mike W. Morley, Flinders University, and Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University

The mysterious Denisovans left DNA traces in populations across Southeast Asia and Australasia, but until now no physical signs of their presence outside Eurasia had been found.

Anna Kotarba-Morley

February 28, 2022

At Unguja Ukuu, human activity transformed the coast of Zanzibar more than 1,000 years ago

Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Flinders University; Alison Crowther, The University of Queensland; Mike W. Morley, Flinders University, and Nicole Boivin, Max Planck Institute of Geoanthropology

Human waste created the landscape for a medieval Indian Ocean trading port and may eventually have led to its demise.

Micro-drilling sediment blocks to extract powder for genetic analysis.

January 4, 2022

Digging deep: DNA molecules in ancient dirt offer a treasure trove of clues to our past

Mike W. Morley, Flinders University; Diyendo Massilani, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology; Matthias Meyer, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and Richard 'Bert' Roberts, University of Wollongong

Genetic analysis of intact blocks of sediment from archaeological sites reveals that microscopic fragments of fossil bone and faeces are the main sources of ancient DNA.

Conor McAdams

April 5, 2021

A batshit experiment: bones cooked in bat poo lift the lid on how archaeological sites are formed

Conor McAdams, University of Wollongong; Mike W. Morley, Flinders University, and Richard 'Bert' Roberts, University of Wollongong

Laboratory experiments with bat poo reveal how archaeological materials in tropical caves have been chemically altered over the millennia.

Sampling sediments in Denisova Cave.

September 26, 2019

Dishing the dirt: sediments reveal a famous early human cave site was also home to hyenas and wolves

Mike W. Morley, Flinders University; Paul Goldberg, University of Wollongong, and Richard 'Bert' Roberts, University of Wollongong

Denisova Cave in Siberia has a rich fossil history of early humans - and deposits of droppings from hyenas, wolves and even bears, according to a new analysis of the cave’s dirt floor.

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