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    Home » Scientists uncover world’s oldest artwork in Indonesian cave
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    Scientists uncover world’s oldest artwork in Indonesian cave

    The painting, found in the Leang Karampuang cave in the Maros-Pangkep region, is estimated to be around 51,200 years old
    News DeskBy News DeskJuly 4, 2024
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    Image Credits : BRIN Google Arts & Culture/ GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY | Cropped by BH

    Indonesia: Researchers have discovered the world’s oldest artwork in a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.

    The painting, found in the Leang Karampuang cave in the Maros-Pangkep region, is estimated to be around 51,200 years old.

    Maxime Aubert, an archaeologist at Australia’s Griffith University and co-author of the study published in Nature, described the finding as the ‘oldest evidence of storytelling.’

    Oldest cave art
    Karampuang Hill, where the artwork was found | Image Credits: BRIN Google Arts & Culture | Cropped by BH

    The newly discovered artwork features three people around a wild pig, measuring 92cm by 38cm (36 inches by 15 inches), rendered in a single shade of dark red pigment. There are other images of pigs in the cave.

    Aubert speculated that the paintings were created by the first group of humans who migrated through Southeast Asia before reaching Australia about 65,000 years ago. Previously, the first narrative art was believed to have originated in Europe.

    Griffith-and-BRIN-team-members
    Griffith and BRIN team members |Image Credits: Ratno Sardi / GRIFFITH UNIVERSITY| Cropped by BH

    Chris Stringer, an anthropologist at London’s Natural History Museum noted that the Indonesian cave art’s dating is ‘quite provocative’ due to its significant age compared to European findings.

    Stringer emphasised the need for further dating to confirm the findings but suggested that representational art may have first emerged in Africa, and the concept spread to other parts as humans migrated.

    Researchers used a novel scientific approach to determine the minimum age of the Leang Karampuang cave painting, by using a laser to date calcium carbonate crystals that naturally formed on top of the painting. Little is known about the creators of the Sulawesi cave paintings.

    Cave art
    Image Credits: BRIN Google Arts & Culture | Cropped by BH

    Griffith University archaeologist Adam Brumm said that, “The discovery of ancient cave art in Indonesia challenges the long-held belief that Europe was the birthplace of such art. It also suggests that storytelling has a much older place in human history than previously recognised.”

    “The earliest Sulawesi rock art is quite advanced and shows the mental capacity of people at the time,” remarked Aubert.

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    The news/article published above has been sourced, compiled, and corroborated by a member of the Britain Herald News Desk Team. If you have any queries or complaints about the published material, please get in touch with us at BritainHerald@Gmail.Com

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