Aboriginal tools found in Western Australia and dating back 35,000 years are surprisingly sophisticated and varied, archaeologists say.

Archaeologists hired by one of the traditional owners in the Pilbara region, the Martidja Banyjima people, uncovered the ancient tools at a rock overhang on the site of the A$1 billion Hope Downs iron ore mine.

The site, which is about 300 kilometres south of Port Hedland, has been named Djadjiling by the Banyjima people.

This honours their ancestral Dreaming track of the same name, which tells the story of how the earth was formed and the cycles of life and nature in the area were created.

Draper says charcoal samples from the site were sent to the University of Waikato, in New Zealand, and radiocarbon dated to 35,000 years old.