70 AUSTRALIAN QUATERNARY CLIMATES AND MIGRATION 



most frequently in the western and southern parts of New Guinea, nearest 

 Australia. This strain also occurs here and there in the interior of the larger 

 islands farther to the east, and in New Caledonia at the east end of the main 

 chain. 



Contrasting the accepted Melanesian type, he states that it is 



concentrated more along the coasts of the larger islands, including the 

 north and east of New Guinea, and in the small islands east of Fiji. Much 

 the same physical characters are often found farther west in those parts of 

 the Molucca-Timor regions and of east Flores not settled by the Malayan 

 peoples. 



In submitting that the Proto-Indics came as a jungle-people 

 with the tropical rain-forest, the movements of the climatic belts 

 and incidentally their movements are timed here from the peak 

 for Wurm 3 in the curve for solar radiation (Zeuner, 1945) viz. 

 25,000 years ago. Zeuner gives {op. cit.) for comparison the 

 estimates of others for this figure— De Geer 18,000 years, Heim 

 16,000 years, Steck 20,000 years and from 14,000 to 15,000 years, 

 Penck and BrucRner 24,000 years. Based on the 25,000 years of 

 the solar radiation curve, the writer estimates that the tropical 

 rain-forest reached Cape York, the northernmost point of Aus- 

 tralia in its present configuration about 15,000 years ago, but it 

 must be proportionately less if we accept the other estimates, 

 viz.: 



DeGeer | Heim | Stec k [Penck and Bruckner 



11,000 | 1 0. 000 1 12,000 and 8,500 to 9.500 14^)00 



Assuming a progressive Postglacial rise of sea-level since Wurm 

 3, the coastal plain of the glacial period was submerged about 

 24,000 years ago, the Mid-Postglacial plain about 16,000 years ago 

 and the 54 feet coastal plain to form Torres Strait about 8,000 

 years ago. These estimates are necessarily approximate for it is 

 known that there were, in glaciated regions, fluctuations in the 

 recession of the ice-sheet during the general retreat of the ice that 

 are possibly reflected in the movements of sea-level. 



That portion of New Guinea nearest Suli Mangoli has always 

 been in the tropical rain-forest, and immigrants from Celebes to 

 New Guinea passed from one part of the forest to another. In 

 the west, if the 60 mile channel separating Timor from Australia 

 was crossed by a hypothetical people during the glacial period, the 

 crossing was from one arid region to another. Conditions were 

 more inviting when the rain-forest reached contiguous points on 

 Timor and the mainland about 11,000 years ago, but the strait had 

 then widened to about 150 miles. 



