WA dig unveils 50,000-year Aboriginal ties

Artefacts collected at a Pilbara rock shelter show Aboriginal presence for over 50,000 years. (AAP)

A West Australian archaeological dig has confirmed Aboriginal people have lived in the eastern Pilbara region for more than 50,000 years.

Archaeologists analysed stone tools, charcoals, and bones collected from the Yirra rock shelter at Rio Tinto's Eastern Channar mine to confirm the Yinhawangka people's ties to the land.