Kilu Cave

Kilu Cave

location in Papua New Guinea
Alternative name	Site DJA
Location	Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea
Region	Buka Island
Coordinates	5°20′8″S 154°41′14″E / 5.33556°S 154.68722°E / -5.33556; 154.68722[1]
Altitude	8 m (26 ft)[2]
Type	limestone rockshelter
Length	17 m (56 ft)
Width	33 m (108 ft)
Height	4 m (13 ft)
History
Periods	Pleistocene, Holocene
Site notes
Excavation dates	1987
Archaeologists	Stephen Wickler

Part of a series on the
History of Bougainville
Prehistory (Kilu Cave) German colony (details) Australian mandate Japanese invasion Allied counter-invasion Territory of Papua and New Guinea Republic of the North Solomons Bougainville conflict Autonomous Bougainville Government Independence referendum
v t e

Kilu Cave is a paleoanthropological site located on Buka Island in the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Kilu Cave is located at the base of a limestone cliff, 65 m (213 ft) from the modern coastline.^[3] With evidence for human occupation dating back to 30,000 years, Kilu Cave is the earliest known site for human occupation in the Solomon Islands archipelago.^[3] The site is the oldest proof of paleolithic people navigating the open ocean i.e. navigating without land in sight. To travel from Nissan island to Buka requires crossing of at least 60 kilometers of open sea. The presence of paleolithic people at Buka therefore is at the same time evidence for the oldest and the longest paleolithic sea travel known so far.