"Ancient Moluccan Warships Found in Australian Rock Art"
Archaeologists from Flinders University in Adelaide have identified two Indonesian Moluccan warships depicted in indigenous rock art found in a small cave in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territories of Australia. The ships bear a striking resemblance to vessels known to have been built by people living on the Maluku Islands of eastern Indonesia nearly 300 years ago. The discovery confirms that contacts between Southeast Asian islanders and Northern Australian indigenous people in past centuries were more extensive than previously known. The Moluccan ships were outfitted for warfare, suggesting that some type of invasion may have occurred.