The Wire

An axe uncovered in Western Australia made headlines after researchers found it was the oldest known stone axe in the world. Dating between 46,000 to 49,000 years old, the axe coincides with when Aboriginal Australians are first thought to have arrived on the continent.

The researchers are hoping this find will do more than break records. They’re out to challenge out-dated concepts of cultural complexity that are a hangover from when colonial thought dominated the sciences.

But for Aboriginal Australians, the axe confirms what they already know. Why is Western science so slow to catch up?