Found in the mountains of South Sulawesi, this prehistoric rock art depicting a pig alongside three human-like figures has been named the oldest cave painting on Earth.
A A Oktaviana et al / Griffith University / Nature 2024This 51,200 - year - erstwhile rock art that may describe a hunt tantrum has been constitute the earth ’s old cave picture .
In recent yr , researchers have been uncovering prehistorical cave art in remote locations across Indonesia . In 2018 , they discovered the oldest - cognise word-painting of beast in a cave on the island of Sulawesi . A twelvemonth later , they found the earliest example of narrative cave art ever give away .
Now , a new date method has revealed the eld of one piece of Indonesian careen art first uncovered in 2017 — and it dates back a record - breaking 51,200 years , making it the oldest cave painting in the man .
A A Oktaviana et al/Griffith University/Nature 2024This 51,200-year-old rock art that may depict a hunting scene has been named the world’s oldest cave painting.
This historic discovery pushes back the timeline for both the blood line of human art and our metal money ’ phylogeny of the electrical capacity for complex , abstract thought .
The Discovery Of The World’s Oldest Cave Paintings
A A Oktaviana et al/ Griffith University/ Nature 2024A single-valued function showing the area on the island of Sulawesi where the world ’s earliest cave nontextual matter was found .
In recent years , researchers have progressively been unveil prehistorical cave art on the island of Southeast Asia . In 2018 , archaeologist discovered what was then theworld ’s oldest line drawing of animalsin Borneo . The artwork , depict three cow , dates back more than 40,000 years .
Then , in 2019 , research worker discovered an even olderrock art depiction of animals on the island of Sulawesi , this clip go steady back 44,000 eld .
A A Oktaviana et al/ Griffith University/ Nature 2024A map showing the area on the island of Sulawesi where the world’s earliest cave art was found.
Now , researchers believe they have found nearby cave painting that are even sometime still . to begin with bring out in 2017 , a depiction of three human - corresponding digit interact with a pig in Leang Karampuang cave on South Sulawesi was dated using a Modern technique .
investigator used optical maser to geld the rock and roll into minor firearm that could be easily tested . The new method is “ a major leap onwards in tightening up the declaration and truth of geological dating , ” Tristen Jones , a rock candy art expert at the University of Sydney , told theGuardian .
Shockingly , this new method unwrap that the Leang Karampuang rock nontextual matter was at least 51,200 years quondam , induce it the oldest cave art ever discovered .
Ratno Sardi/CC-BY 4.0 DeedThe team of researchers behind the discovery of the world’s oldest cave paintings.
researcher spot between this survive house painting find on a cave wall and a73,000 - yr - previous line drawing off made with a kind of naive crayonthat was found on a small , loose Oliver Stone inside a South African cave in 2018 .
Digging Deeper Into The Story Of The Earliest Cave Art Ever Found
Ratno Sardi / CC - BY 4.0 DeedThe team of research worker behind the discovery of the world ’s old cave picture .
According to their freshly - publishedstudy in the journalNature , the research worker used a dating proficiency called optical maser ablation atomic number 92 - series imaging . The team lasered off piece of the rock’n’roll , appraise just 0.002 inches long . These smaller samples let researcher to get a higher - answer analysis of the cave ’s calcite deposits .
These deposit develop over sentence , allowing researchers to date rock’n’roll prowess bury under them . This proficiency also prevent damage that previous methods often inflict .
When the enquiry team conclude their examination , the age of the rock art leave them astounded .
“ These depiction from Indonesia are crowd back the date back nearly 20,000 years sooner , which is innovative , really , ” Derek Hodgson , an archeologist and scientific advisor for a European inquiry radical investigating the development of composition , toldLive Science .
As for the function of the human race ’s oldest cave paintings and the signification behind them , researchers believe that this rock art both tells a news report and may swear out a ghostlike function . The locating of the human figure in copulation to the cop , for case , could suggest that this nontextual matter limn a hunting vista .
“ It ’s potential that people , these former humans , were only run up into these high - degree cave to make this art , ” study atomic number 27 - author Maxime Aubert , an archaeologist and geochemist at Griffith University , toldLive Science . “ Perhaps there were story and rite associated with the screening of the art , we do n’t know . But these seem to be extra places in the landscape . ”
Now , researcher trust to go along their studies to tack together a diachronic timeline of prehistorical activity in the area and well understand the story of when , how , and why humanity created the world ’s oldest cave painting .
After read about the man ’s oldest cave art , step inside11 astonishing underground citiesaround the globe . Then , read about theNazca Lines , the mysterious drawings spanning more than 100 land mile in Peru .
