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Tuesday, 14 July 2026
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Australia & Oceania

Australia's Brewarrina fish traps recognised as possibly oldest human construction in the world

Tuesday, 14 July 2026, 06:16 · 1 min read

The Brewarrina fish traps (a network of dry-stone weirs and ponds on the Barwon River in northern New South Wales, Australia) have gained renewed attention as a possible candidate for the oldest human-made structure in the world, with some estimates placing their origins as far back as 40,000 years, though scientific dating remains unresolved and other research suggests they may be around 1,000 years old. Built and maintained by the Ngemba people and serving as a major gathering site for up to eight First Nations groups, the nearly half-kilometre-long system was ingeniously designed to exploit seasonal river flows and trap migrating fish. Listed on Australia's National Heritage register since 2005, the site is considered a landmark of Indigenous ingenuity and challenges long-held assumptions about pre-colonial Aboriginal societies, regardless of its precise age.

Sources
Global VoicesAustralia’s Brewarrina fish traps may be the oldest human construction in the world ↗︎
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