Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago, Nature, July 3, 2024

By Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Budianto Hakim, Basran Burhan, Ratno Sardi, Shinatria Adhityatama, Hamrullah, Iwan Sumantri, et al.

Abstract

Previous dating research indicated that the Indonesian island of Sulawesi is host to some of the oldest known rock art. That work was based on solution uranium-series (U-series) analysis of calcite deposits overlying rock art in the limestone caves of Maros-Pangkep, South Sulawesi …Painted at least 51,200 years ago, this narrative composition, which depicts human-like figures interacting with a pig, is now the earliest known surviving example of representational art, and visual storytelling, in the world. Our findings show that figurative portrayals of anthropomorphic figures and animals have a deeper origin in the history of modern human (Homo sapiens) image-making than recognized to date, as does their representation in composed scenes.

Read the whole article here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07541-7

In related news:

• https://news.griffith.edu.au/2024/07/04/cave-painting-in-indonesia-is-the-oldest-known-picture-story/
• https://news.griffith.edu.au/2019/12/12/indonesian-cave-art-overturns-thinking-on-the-roots-of-human-spirituality/
• https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abd4648
• https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/archaeology/indonesia-rock-art-oldest/
• https://webtopnews.com/discovery-of-ancient-cave-paintings-in-indonesia-rewrites-history-of-spirituality-14040-2019/
• https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1590-animal-headed-humans-appear-in-earliest-art/
• 2020 — «Shamanism and rock art.» Arts & Cultures 21: 82-91. – Scientific Figure on ResearchGate. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Therianthropes-painted-in-a-rock-shelter-in-Schaaplaats-Clarens-South-Africa-and_fig4_341651826
• https://www.livescience.com/48199-worlds-oldest-cave-art-photos.html
• https://www.theguardian.com/science/article/2024/jul/03/oldest-picture-story-cave-painting-indonesia-record-51000-years [accessed 4 Jul, 2024]

Featured image credit: https://www.livescience.com/48199-worlds-oldest-cave-art-photos.html