Mungo man and woman (English)

Lake Mungo is a dry lake located in south-eastern Australia, in the south-western portion of New South Wales. It is about 760 kilometres (470 mi) due west of Sydney and 90 kilometres (56 mi) north-east of Mildura, and 110 kilometres north-west of Balranald. The lake is the central feature of Mungo National Park, and is one of seventeen lakes in the World Heritage listed Willandra Lakes Region. Sediments at Lake Mungo have been deposited over more than 100,000 years. There are three distinct layers of sands and soil forming the Walls around the edge of the lake. The oldest is the reddish Gol Gol layer, formed between 100,000 and 120,000 years ago. The middle greyish layer is the Mungo layer, deposited between 50,000 and 25,000 years ago. The most recent is the pale brown Zanci layer, which was laid down mostly between 25,000 and 15,000 years ago.

The oldest human remains found in Australia are those of Mungo Man and Mungo Lady, both discovered at Lake Mungo in New South Wales. These remains are estimated to be around 42,000 years old, making them some of the earliest evidence of modern humans outside of Africa. Mungo Man was buried in a ritualistic way, covered in red ochre, while Mungo Lady was cremated.