The discovery of Mungo Man

On 26 February 1974, geologist Dr Jim Bowler discovered a 42,000-year-old skeleton in New South Wales, Australia.The remains were nicknamed Mungo Man, as they were found in Lake Mungo.The discovery rewrote Australia's history, it proved Aboriginal Australians had occupied the continent for tens of thousands of years.Rachel Naylor speaks to Dr Bowler about Mungo Man's original cremation with ochre and his secret reburial in 2022.Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.Recent episodes explore everything from how the Excel spreadsheet was developed, the creation of cartoon rabbit Miffy and how the sound barrier was broken.We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.(Photo: A Mutthi Mutthi Elder welcomes Mungo Man back to country during a smoking ceremony in 2017 in Balranald, Australia. Credit: Lisa Maree Williams / Getty Images)