NEW YORK (AP) — Handprints on cave walls in a largely unexplored area of Indonesia may be the oldest rock art studied so far, dating back to at least 67,800 years ago.
The tan-colored prints analyzed by Indonesian and Australian researchers on the island of Sulawesi were made by blowing pigment over hands placed against the cave walls, leaving an outline. Some of the fingertips were also tweaked to look more pointed.
This prehistoric art form suggests the Indonesian island was home to a flourishing artistic culture. To figure out how old the paintings were, researchers dated mineral crusts that had formed on top of the art.
Independent paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger remarked, “It fits everything I’d been thinking,” upon witnessing the new findings.
Previously discovered cave drawings from Indonesia confirm that it hosts some of the world’s earliest examples of human artistic endeavors, with consistent evidence of early artistic expression across the globe.
The Sulawesi art pieces represent a more complex tradition of rock art that could signify shared cultural practices among ancient humans. Study author Maxime Aubert of Griffith University, who published the findings in Nature, emphasized the importance of these artifacts in mapping historical human creativity.
Scientists are eager to ascertain when early humans transitioned from simple markings to more elaborate representations, with these cave drawings establishing a crucial timeline in the comprehension of human creativity.
While the specific creators of these handprints remain unclear, they might belong to an ancient human group, potentially the Denisovans, or to early modern humans traveling from Africa through the Middle East and towards Australia. Notably, details in the cave art suggest a human hand.
Other artworks from the same region, which feature human figures and abstract animals, were dated to be significantly younger, indicating that artistic traditions may have continued or evolved over millennia.
Future explorations are anticipated to reveal more sites with art, possibly dating back even further, which will deepen our understanding of the cultural and artistic practices of early humans. “For us, this discovery is not the end of the story,” Aubert stated, expressing hope for ongoing research.
