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西澳大利亚Burrup半岛（传统名Murujuga）附近新确认两处水下考古遗址。发表于《第四纪科学评论》的研究记录了二十多件石器；遗址约在约九千至一万年前海平面上升后被淹没。原住民护林员参与潜水调查并担任共同作者。本文说明遗址类型、石器转运证据与合作意义。据弗林德斯大学与ABC News 2026年10月14日报道撰写。

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Two new underwater archaeological sites off Western Australia’s Burrup Peninsula are helping researchers understand how people lived on land that is now under the sea. The peninsula is also known as Murujuga. A study published in Quaternary Science Reviews describes more than 20 stone artefacts found at the sites. The finds were submerged about 9,000 to 10,000 years ago when sea levels rose after the last ice age. Flinders University and partners reported the work on October 14, 2026, and ABC News covered the same discoveries.

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西澳大利亚Burrup半岛附近新发现的两处水下考古遗址，正帮助研究者理解人们如何在如今已沉入海底的陆地上生活。该半岛传统名称为Murujuga。发表于《第四纪科学评论》的研究描述了遗址中发现的二十多件石器。这些发现约在九千至一万年前末次冰期后海平面上升时被淹没。弗林德斯大学及合作方于2026年10月14日报告了这项工作，ABC News也报道了同一发现。

The new work builds on underwater research that began in 2019. It argues that earlier finds were not isolated. Instead, they form part of a wider submerged cultural landscape in a World Heritage-listed region. More than two million square kilometres of Australia’s continental shelf went under water after the ice age. Before that change, First Nations peoples lived across landscapes that now lie beneath the ocean.

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新研究建立在始于2019年的水下调查之上。它认为早前的发现并非孤立事件，而是世界遗产名录区域内更广阔淹没文化景观的一部分。冰期结束后，澳大利亚大陆架有超过两百万平方公里的陆地沉入水下。在那次变化之前，原住民曾生活在如今位于海底的景观之中。

The two sites show different uses of that lost world. One centres on a freshwater spring, a place where people would likely gather for a vital resource. The other is linked to a rocky hill overlooking an ancient river channel. Together they suggest people used several parts of the landscape when today’s islands were still connected by dry land.

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这两处遗址展现了那个失落世界的不同用途。一处围绕淡水泉，人们很可能在那里聚集以获取重要资源。另一处与俯瞰古代河道的石丘相关。合在一起说明：在今天的岛屿仍由陆地相连时，人们曾利用景观的多个部分。

Stone analysis adds another detail. Some artefacts were made from material that came from around Rosemary Island, about 20 to 25 kilometres from where divers found them. Lead researcher Jonathan Benjamin compared the choice to picking a favourite kitchen tool: people selected stone they preferred and carried it across the landscape. That transport story survives even though the land is now seabed.

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石器分析补充了另一细节。部分器物的石材来自罗斯玛丽岛一带，距潜水员发现地点约20至25公里。首席研究者Jonathan Benjamin把这种选择比作挑选顺手的厨房刀具：人们选出自己偏好的石料，并把它带到景观各处。即便陆地如今已是海床，这段转运故事仍被保存下来。

Local knowledge shaped the project. Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation rangers Malik Churnside and Richard Variakojis trained as scientific divers, joined surveys, and are co-authors of the paper. They found artefacts near a submerged spring that still appears in song lines, even though the spring has been under water for thousands of years. Benjamin said the partnership shows the value of working beside trained Indigenous rangers who bring knowledge of Country as well as diving skill.

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地方知识塑造了这项计划。Murujuga原住民公司的护林员Malik Churnside与Richard Variakojis接受科学潜水训练、参与调查，并担任论文共同作者。他们在一处淹没泉附近发现器物；该泉虽已在水下数千年，仍出现在歌线之中。Benjamin表示，这一合作说明：与受训原住民护林员并肩工作很有价值，他们既带来对Country的知识，也具备潜水技能。

The team believes many more sites may wait offshore. Benjamin called Murujuga a future global hotspot for underwater archaeology and said there could be thousands of submerged places still to explore. For Traditional Owners, the discoveries are not only about the past. They help map and protect a cultural landscape that continues beneath the waves, and they remind readers that rising seas did not erase the evidence of earlier lives.

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团队认为近海可能还有更多遗址。Benjamin称Murujuga将成为未来全球水下考古热点，并表示仍可能有数千处淹没地点有待探索。对传统所有者而言，这些发现不只关乎过去。它们有助于测绘并保护延续在海浪之下的文化景观，也提醒读者：海平面上升并未抹去更早生活留下的证据。

新闻来源

• ABC News · Newly discovered underwater sites off WA’s Burrup Peninsula give clues to ancient ways of life (14 Oct 2026)
• Flinders University · Australia’s oldest underwater archaeology reveals ancient life within a lost landscape (14 Oct 2026)
• National Indigenous Times · Murujuga artefacts reveal a cultural landscape beneath the sea (14 Oct 2026)

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