In recent years, scientists have been researching some of the world’s oldest works of art. Interestingly, the oldest cave art in the world was discovered in Indonesia. The cave paintings show the relationship between humans and pigs. The painting itself is estimated Digital Agency to be tens of thousands of years old. Are you curious, what is the world’s oldest cave art found in Indonesia like? Check out the discussion in this article.
Cave Art Discovered
The oldest work of figurative cave art was discovered in a limestone cave in Leang Karampuang, Maros-Pangkep, South Sulawesi, in July 2024. The cave art was discovered by a number of scientists from Australia and Indonesia, namely a research team from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), Griffith University and Southern Cross University.
Scientists estimate AI ChatBot that the rock painting depicting a wild boar and three human-like figures is around 51,200 years old. It is 5,000 years older than the oldest cave art ever discovered.
In determining the age of the cave paintings, the research team applied the latest analysis method through U-series laser ablation (LA-U-series) to obtain accurate dates on the thin layer of calcium carbonate that formed on top of the decorative art.
The discovery manages to push back to a time when modern humans first demonstrated their capacity for creative thinking. This painting is also considered to have important implications regarding understanding the origins of the earliest art. Prof Maxime Aubert from Griffith University Australia said the discovery of this cave art would change thinking about human evolution.
“This painting tells a complex story. It is the oldest evidence we have for storytelling. It shows that humans at that time had the capacity to think abstractly,” said Griffith.