Researchers have discovered a prehistoric hand outline inside a cave in Indonesia that may be the oldest cave art ever found. The artwork was located on Sulawesi’s nearby island, Muna, inside the Liang Metanduno limestone cave.
Experts say the hand stencil dates back to at least 67,800 years ago, making it older than any other known cave painting in the world.
Where the Oldest Cave Art Was Discovered
The pre-eminent cave art was discovered in eastern Indonesia in the Sulawesi island. Scientists have noticed a reddish handprint on the cave wall which resembles a human hand which has been changed to a claw-like form.
The painting was probably created by the person laying his/her hand on the rock and blowing or pouring red paint behind leaving the form behind.
Who Created the Ancient Cave Painting
Archeologists suppose that the earliest cave paintings they ever discovered could have been done by the ancient Indigenous Australians or their ancestors. The lifted finger shapes indicate that the figure could only be a human hand and not an animal.
This finding demonstrates that the idea of creative and symbolic thinking was already present in early people in this region ten thousand years ago.
How Scientists Dated the Cave Art
Dating rock art is extremely hard, but some crusts that were formed on the top of the painting are mineral. Their testing of those layers provided them with a clue of the timing of the art.
This technique proved that, according to experts, the oldest cave art known has a date of almost 68,000 years, which is many thousands of years older than most of the known prehistoric art.
Cave Art Older Than Previous Record Holders
The Maltravieso Cave in Spain had the oldest known cave art before this, being a red hand stencil dated at an estimated age of 66,700 years. The Indonesian find plays beats on that record.
It is also over 15000 years older than another Sulawesi cave painting discovered in 2024 in which humanlike figures were depicted alongside a pig.
The fact that the oldest cave art was ever discovered assists scientists in comprehending how the primitive human beings thought, expressed themselves, and communicated with their surroundings.
The scientists claim that it confirms that people were already creating symbolic art even earlier than it was thought possible, and it is creating a new opening to ancient culture and imagination.
The pre-history cave art in Indonesia is the oldest site to have ever been discovered and this alters our idea of early human creativity. The fact that a simple hand print now almost 68,000 years old narrates a very strong tale of how mankind has always been connected with art and expression.
Since scientists are still investigating the caves of Sulawesi, there are still more surprises of our ancient history that may be uncovered.
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