A team of Australian and Indonesian scientists has discovered the world’s oldest known figurative cave art on the Indonesian island of South Sulawesi. This groundbreaking painting, featuring a wild pig and three human-like figures, is at least 51,200 years old, surpassing previous records by over 5,000 years.
This discovery significantly shifts our understanding of when modern humans first demonstrated creative thought. Prof Maxime Aubert from Griffith University in Australia notes, “The painting tells a complex story and is the oldest evidence we have of storytelling. It shows that humans at the time had the capacity to think in abstract terms.”
The artwork depicts a pig with its mouth partly open, accompanied by three human-like figures. One figure extends both arms, seemingly holding a rod, while another appears to interact with the pig’s throat using a stick. The third figure is upside-down, reaching towards the pig’s head.
Led by Adhi Agus Oktaviana, an Indonesian rock art specialist from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in Jakarta, the team emphasizes the early emergence of narrative storytelling in human culture. Oktaviana states, “Humans have probably been telling stories for much longer than 51,200 years, but as words do not fossilize, we rely on depictions in art – and the Sulawesi art is the oldest such evidence known to archaeology.”
The painting represents a significant evolution in human cognitive processes, moving beyond geometric patterns found in earlier sites like the Blombos Caves in Africa. This new find highlights the early development of representational art, a precursor to modern art and science.
Dr. Henry Gee, a senior editor at Nature, where the findings were published, remarks, “Something significant happened around 50,000 years ago, leading to the extinction of other human species. It’s likely there are even earlier examples of representational art yet to be discovered.”
New laser-based dating methods have enabled this precise dating, suggesting that further re-dating of cave art sites worldwide might push back the timeline of human creativity even further. Prof Adam Brumm from Griffith University highlights the importance of these discoveries in understanding the role of storytelling in early human history, stating, “The oldest cave art we have found in Sulawesi depicts recognizable scenes, showing that early humans intended to communicate narratives – stories.”
These findings offer a fascinating glimpse into the cognitive and cultural evolution of early humans.
