They discover the oldest cave painting in the world
They discover the oldest cave painting in the world
The oldest cave painting in the world is confirmed at 45,500 years old. Located in 2017 in a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, a warty boar painted with dark red ocher pigment is now the oldest cave painting ever discovered.
After more than three years of research, archaeologists from Griffith University (Australia) have determined that the 45,500-year-old rock painting, discovered in the limestone cave called Leang Tedongnge, is the oldest found to date. The discovery was made by Basran Burhan, a PhD student at Griffith University, thanks to the collaboration of the native population of the area.
The painting, which measures 136 centimeters long and 110 high, depicts at least three Sulawesi warty pigs. The researchers were able to identify a small calcite deposit, known as cave popcorn, that had formed on top of one of the pig figures. They took samples of the calcite and analyzed it using the uranium series dating technique.
In 2014, the first dates for Sulawesi rock art were reported, based on uranium series analysis of mineral deposits that formed naturally in the art. A stamped image of a human hand found in a cave was created at least 40,000 years ago. Then, in 2019, researchers dated a painting in another cave showing hybrid human-animal figures hunting Sulawesi warty pigs and dwarf buffaloes to at least 43,900 years old.
Sulawesi, the largest island in Wallacea, is located between Asia and Australia. Modern humans are thought to have crossed Wallacea in boats at least 65,000 years ago to reach Australia. Experts anticipate that future research could uncover much older rock art on Sulawesi or other Wallacean Islands, dating back at least 65,000 years and possibly earlier.
