A painting of a wild pig and three human figures has been discovered in a cave on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi, and it is thought to be over 51,200 years old. Artnet News reports that advanced dating techniques have enabled archaeologists to pinpoint the origin of the drawings inside the limestone cave of Leang Karampuang.
The scene depicts a large wild pig in dark red pigment, and three human-like figures with sticks or spears surrounding it. The archeologists believe that this is intended to be an abstract interpretation of the world that early humans lived in. The artwork provides scientists with important information about the development of the human mind.
Art specialist Adhi Agus Oktaviana commented: “Our results are very surprising: none of the famous European Ice Age art is anywhere near as old as this, with the exception of some controversial finds in Spain.”
“Humans have probably been telling stories for much longer than 51,200 years, but as words do not fossilize, we can only go by indirect proxies like depictions of scenes in art—and the Sulawesi art is now the oldest such evidence by far that is known to archeology.”
What is the oldest example of cave art in the world?
Non-representational examples of cave carvings and patterns have been found in southern Africa that are thought to be at least 75,000 years old, but the new discovery is currently the oldest known example of representational art.
Studies show that the earliest forms of humans (Homo sapiens) are likely to have evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago. However, it is believed that they did not have the intellectual ability to think or plan ahead, which is referred to as higher order consciousness.
Over time, these early humans became more sophisticated and were able to make basic tools for hunting and gathering that enabled them to survive. This evolved into higher order consciousness and the ability to think and feel beyond basic impulses, and produce artworks that were the result of abstract thinking.
Until 2014, it was thought that the most ancient examples of cave paintings were a red disc in the El Castillo cave in Spain that is 40,800 years old, and the famous Lascaux cave paintings in southwest France. However, over the last ten years, a series of discoveries in Indonesia and Africa has overturned this view.
New discoveries are still to be made
BBC News reports that advanced dating techniques using laser technology means that researchers can be much more detailed and accurate in their dating. This means that there may still be much to be discovered, particularly in southern Africa where the earliest humans evolved.
Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London told the BBC “there may be examples of ancient representational art in Africa, where modern humans first evolved, but we have not found any yet.”
He added: “This find reinforces the idea that representational art was first produced in Africa, before 50,000 years ago, and the concept spread as our species spread.”
“If that is true, much new supporting evidence from other areas including Africa has yet to emerge. Obviously this oldest date is work on one panel at one site – hopefully more dating will be done at more sites to confirm this apparently crucial finding”.
Challenging current ideas about human evolution
Prof Adam Brumm from Griffith University told the BBC that ‘the latest Indonesian cave art discoveries cast new light on the important role of storytelling in the history of art.”
He added: “It is noteworthy that the oldest cave art we have found in Sulawesi thus far consists of recognisable scenes: that is, paintings that depict humans and animals interacting in such a way that we can infer the artist intended to communicate a narrative of some kind – a story.”
Previous to the new discovery, a 45,000 year old piece of cave art was discovered on Sulawesi, depicting a group of wild boars in red ochre pigment.
If you have a cave in need of some narrative artwork to brighten it up, please drop into our framing shop in east London and we will be happy to help.