You've probably heard of crop circles, but have you heard of 'fairy circles'? The patches of barren earth have baffled scientists for decades - but Indigenous knowledge has helped solve the mystery.
It's the name given to these polka dot patches of barren earth found in grasslands in Western Australia's Pilbara region. They've had scientists puzzled for decades.
There's been a bunch of theories thrown around over the years. Aliens? Nah. Grasses organising themselves according to scarce water and resources? Sounds more plausible. And that was the conclusion of research that came out in 2016.
But Martu Aboriginal elders in the Pilbara region have knowledge on this phenominon dating back generations. They say fairy circles, or linyji, are actually termite nests.
A new research paper by Indigenous elders and a bunch of scientists says these termite nests may have been formed more than 12,000 years ago. The research looked at Martu stories, Investigating how these termite structures have appeared in local art, and they also analysed soil data.
Their research concluded that termites live in the circle structures and continue to build them. They say the evidence is unequivocal and the fairy circles mystery is solved.
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