“Nowhere else in the world do you get axes at this date,” said Professor Sue O’Connor, an archaeologist from the Australian National University.

“In Japan such axes appear about 35,000 years ago. But in most countries in the world they arrive with agriculture after 10,000 years ago.”

The axe fragment was dug out of a remote rock shelter known as Carpenter’s Gap, believed to be one of the first sites in Australia occupied by modern humans. Food scraps, artwork and other tools have also been found in the shelter.