Kakadu Aboriginal occupation and rock art sequence (c. 20,000 BP–present)

1. Early occupation at Madjedbebe begins

   Jan 1, 62999 BCELabels: Madjedbebe, Alligator Rivers

   • Nature
   • Britannica

2. Nauwalabila I dates bracket very early settlement

   Jan 1, 52999 BCELabels: Nauwalabila I, Deaf Adder

   • Nauwalabila I
   • Britannica

3. Late Pleistocene occupation intensifies in Kakadu shelters

   Jan 1, 19999 BCELabels: Arnhem Land, rock shelters

   • Inside Story
   • Parks Australia

4. Kakadu rock art tradition extends to ~20,000 years

   Jan 1, 17999 BCELabels: Ubirr, Burrungkuy

   • Parks Australia

5. Dynamic Figure rock art begins in western Arnhem Land

   Jan 1, 10999 BCELabels: Dynamic Figure, west Arnhem

   • Cambridge Core

6. Early Holocene styles diversify after environmental change

   Jan 1, 9999 BCELabels: Early Holocene, running-figure

   • Cambridge Core

7. X-ray rock art develops as a distinct tradition

   Jan 1, 1999 BCELabels: X-ray style, rock art

   • Cambridge Core
   • Parks Australia

8. Contact-period imagery begins to appear in rock art

   Jan 1, 1700Labels: contact art, Nanguluwurr

   • Parks Australia
   • Nanguluwurr

9. Leichhardt expedition passes near Nourlangie area

   Jan 1, 1845Labels: Ludwig Leichhardt, Nourlangie

   • Nourlangie Rock

10. Kakadu National Park proclaimed (Stage 1)

    Apr 5, 1979Labels: Kakadu National, Stage 1

    • Kakadu NP

11. Kakadu inscribed on World Heritage List (Stage I)

    Jan 1, 1981Labels: UNESCO, World Heritage

    • UNESCO SOC
    • DCCEEW

12. Kakadu World Heritage listing extended (Stage II)

    Jan 1, 1987Labels: World Heritage, UNESCO

    • UNESCO SOC

13. Kakadu World Heritage listing extended (Stage III)

    Jan 1, 1992Labels: World Heritage, UNESCO

    • UNESCO SOC

14. Madjedbebe study reports ~65,000-year occupation evidence

    Jul 19, 2017Labels: Madjedbebe study, ground-edge axes

    • Nature
    • Britannica