Move over, Europe. You may no longer be the origin of human art. A series of cave paintings recently discovered in Indonesia is about the same age, or even older, as similar cave art found in Europe.
Archaeologists discovered the art on an island in Sulawesi, suggesting that cave art wasn't exclusive to early European humans. The newly discovered paintings feature everything from outlines of hands to animals to human figures. One of those hands particularly stands out and dates back to nearly 40,000 years ago.
"The minimum age for (the outline of the hand) is 39,900 years old, which makes it the oldest hand stencil in the world," says Dr. Maxime Aubert, of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. "Next to it is a pig that has a minimum age of 35,400 years old, and this is one of the oldest figurative depictions in the world, if not the oldest one."
This art was originally discovered decades ago, but researchers thought it was only about 10,000 years old based on the humid environment of the area, which would have destroyed anything older than that. However, new dating techniques based on stalactites and mineral deposits in the cave, told a different story : this art is far older than previously thought.
Archaeologists previously believed that the origin of human art began in Europe, with the oldest painting found in Spain of a red disk dating back to about 40,800 years ago. However, the cave art in Indonesia shows that art was taking root in Indonesia at about the same time, perhaps even before.
The presence of ancient art represents a point in human evolution where modern humans were born. These pieces of ancient artwork show the emergence of an intelligence trait that includes abstract ideas. If archaeologists could figure out how early humans were creating art, they would have a precise moment in time when evolution created what we know as modern homo sapiens.
Archaeologists believe that there's more ancient art awaiting discovery, as well as some that's been lost to the hands of time, weather and even industry. There is also the fact that some previously dated art could be far older than previously thought.
"I predict that even older examples of cave art will be discovered on Sulawesi, and in mainland Asia, and ultimately in our African homeland," says Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London.
