*This content was translated by AI.
The world's oldest cave painting has been discovered in a cave on an island near Sulawesi, Indonesia, attracting attention from archaeological circles around the world.
According to major foreign media such as National Geographic and Scientific American on the 22nd (local time), a joint research team from Griffith University in Australia and Indonesia's National Research Revolution Application (BRIN) announced the discovery of a hand stencil mural made at least 67,800 years ago in the "Lian Methanduno" cave on the small island of Muna on the southeastern coast of Sulawesi. The findings were published in the global scientific journal Nature.
The mural was created using the "stencil" technique, in which the palm of the hand was placed on the wall of the cave, the pigment was held in the mouth, and then blown to leave the engraved shape of the hand. In particular, it is characterized by deliberately transforming the outline of the fingertip to make it look like an animal's claws.
Maksim Auber, a professor at Griffith University who co-led the study, said, "This style is unique only found in Sulawesi to date," adding, "The intentionally sharp re-painting of the fingertips was not just a hand drawing, but something else."
"It appears that artists have tried to transform human hands into animal claws," said co-researcher Professor Adam Brum. "This could represent a deep symbolic relationship between humans and animals."
It's 1100 years older than Altamira, "discovering the overturning of Eurocentricism."
The research team analyzed the mineral layer formed on the mural using laser ablation uranium dating and confirmed that the mural was painted at least 67,800 years ago.
This is more than 1,100 years earlier than the Spanish cave paintings known to have been painted by Neanderthals (about 64,000-66,000 years ago), including the Spanish Altamira cave paintings, and more than 15,000 years older than the previous best 最 record found by the same research team in the Sulawesi region in 2024.
The discovery is seen as important evidence that reverses the European-centered view of the existing academic community, which is "the birthplace of human civilization is Europe."
"Many archaeologists have long argued that a 'mental big bang' occurred in Europe based on the simultaneous appearance of cave murals, sculptures, and jewelry shortly after Homo sapiens arrived in France and Spain about 40,000 years ago," Professor Adam Brum said. "But this discovery is new evidence that denies the view that human cognitive awakening began in Europe."
"We are seeing the characteristics of 'modern human' behavior in Indonesia, including narrative art," he continued, adding, "This makes it difficult to maintain a European-centered argument."
The findings also provide important clues to the debate over the timing of the first settlement in the Australian continent.
Dr. Adhi Agus Oktaviana of Indonesia's National Research and Innovation Agency explained, "The people who drew this picture in Sulawesi were likely part of a wider population that later spread across the region and ultimately reached Australia."
Currently, academia is at odds with the 'short-term solidarity theory' that Homo sapiens reached the Australian continent about 50,000 years ago and the 'long-term solidarity theory' that it settled about 65,000 years ago, and this finding can be strong evidence to support the long-term solidarity theory.
The team also confirmed that the Liang Methanduno Cave has been repeatedly used as a venue for artistic activities over tens of thousands of years.
"Some ancient murals were painted again up to 35,000 years later," Professor Maxim Auber said. "The cave was continuously painted until the peak of the last ice age about 20,000 years ago, and after a long hiatus, the first Australian-speaking farmers painted again about 4,000 years ago."
This demonstrates that symbolic representation was not a transitory or isolated innovation, but a sustainable cultural tradition sustained over generations.
Dr. Octaviana explained that since 2015, he has visited hand stencils left by ancient humans in caves in the Muna Island area, and that the newly discovered mural was dimly hidden under a relatively recent painting of a person on horseback and a chicken.
"Many parts of Indonesia and surrounding islands have not yet been explored archaeologically," the research team said. "More or older evidence of cultural traditions is likely to be found in the future."
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*This content was translated by AI.
