A cave painting discovered in Leang Karampuang, Sulawesi, Indonesia, dated to at least 51,200 years ago, is believed to be the oldest known example of figurative art depicting a narrative scene, featuring human-like figures interacting with a wild pig, including a therianthrope (half-human, half-animal).
This discovery challenges the assumption that Europe was the birthplace of cave art and storytelling in art, providing evidence of early human presence and migrations through Southeast Asia before reaching Australia.
The ability to convey complex narratives may have emerged much earlier than previously thought, challenging the belief that human figure representation in art became common only in the late Pleistocene.
The paintings may have been created by humans who moved through Southeast Asia before reaching Australia.
The oldest known human-made images are simple lines and patterns made in ochre, found in South Africa, and estimated to be around 100,000 years old.
Early human art is believed to have originated in Africa over 300,000 years ago, but there is a significant gap in human art history until the cave paintings in Indonesia, 50,000 years later. The Sulawesi cave art is significantly older than European cave art.
Improved methods for dating prehistoric rock art, like laser-ablation U-series imaging, allow for more precise and efficient dating.
Sources: Newsweek, BBC, Forbes, Independent, Live Science, El País, Tagesspiegel, New Scientist, La Nación , La Voz
This article was written in collaboration with Generative AI news company Alchemiq.
