Photo: Oktaviana et al via Nature
Researchers believe that they found the oldest example of figurative rock art in a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The cave art depicting three humans and a pig was painted at least 51,200 years ago. This is at least 5,000 years earlier than the previous record holder, an image of a pig discovered in a different cave on the island. A new study published in Nature details the findings.
“The painting tells a complex story. It is the oldest evidence we have for storytelling. It shows that humans at the time had the capacity to think in abstract terms,” Professor Maxime Aubert from Australia’s Griffith University tells BBC News.
Scientists used new technology to more accurately date the rock art. Using a laser to cut tiny art samples, they studied the work in depth and then dated the material. Interestingly, this single panel was painted in different stages, starting 51,200 years ago and ending 18,700 years ago.
As documented by Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), the cave—Leang Karampuang—was discovered in 2017 during a routine rock art expedition. A member of the Cultural Heritage Guard noticed red markings at the cave’s opening and called a team to conduct a full inspection. At that point, the wealth of imagery in the cave was cataloged.
Until ancient cave art was discovered in Borneo in 2018, its only known traces were in Europe. France’s Lascaux caves and Spain’s Altamira caves have long been studied for their prehistoric art, but those depictions seem positively modern when compared with what’s been discovered in Sulawesi.
The exciting part of finding representational art this old is that it points to a change in thinking for our predecessors.
“Something seems to have happened around 50,000 years ago, shortly after which all other species of human such as Neanderthals and the so-called Hobbit died out,” shares Nature senior editor Dr. Henry Gee.
“It is very romantic to think that at some point in that time, something happened in the human brain, but I think it is more likely that there are even earlier examples of representational art.” If so, we can’t wait to see what’s yet to be discovered.
Researchers have discovered the oldest piece of representational rock art, dating back 51,200 years.
Photo: Oktaviana et al via Nature
The work was found in a cave on Karampuang Hill, located on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island.
Photo: BRIN/Google Art & Culture
Learn more about how these important markings were discovered.
h/t: [BBC News]
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