By Pallab GhoshContinue reading the main story
Scientists have identified some of the earliest cave paintings
produced by humans.
produced by humans.
The artworks are in a rural area on the Indonesian Island of Sulawesi.
Until now, paintings this old had been confirmed in caves only in Western Europe.
Researchers tell the journal Nature that the Indonesian discovery transforms
ideas about how humans first developed the ability to produce art.
ideas about how humans first developed the ability to produce art.
Australian and Indonesian scientists have dated layers of stalactite-like growths that
have formed over coloured outlines of human hands.
have formed over coloured outlines of human hands.
Early artists made them by carefully blowing paint around hands that were pressed
tightly against the cave walls and ceilings. The oldest is at least 40,000 years old.
tightly against the cave walls and ceilings. The oldest is at least 40,000 years old.
This painting, from Bone, is of a variety a wild endemic dwarfed bovid found only in Sulawesi, which the inhabitants probably hunted
There are also human figures, and pictures of wild hoofed animals that are found only on the island. Dr Maxime Aubert, of Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, who dated the paintings found in Maros in Southern Sulawesi, explained that one of them (shown immediately below) was probably the earliest of its type.
At the top of the worn painting is a faint outline of a human hand. Below it is possibly the earliest depiction of an animal
"The minimum age for (the outline of the hand) is 39,900 years old, which makes
it the oldest hand stencil in the world," said Dr Aubert.
it the oldest hand stencil in the world," said Dr Aubert.
"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," he told BBC News.
There are also paintings in the caves that are around 27,000 years old, which means that the inhabitants were painting for at least 13,000 years.
In addition, there are paintings in a cave in the regency of Bone, 100 km north of Maros. These cannot be dated because the stalactite-like growths used to determine the age of the art do not occur. But the researchers believe that they are probably the same age as the paintings in Maros because they are stylistically identical.
The discovery of the Indonesian cave art is important because it shows the beginnings of human intelligence as we understand it today.
Continue reading the main story
1. Click on links that appear in the video below to explore the story in
more depth with Pallab on location in caves in Britain.
more depth with Pallab on location in caves in Britain.
2. Return to the main video by clicking on the box/image, bottom right.
Continue reading the main story
INTERACTIVE VIDEO A new way of watching video –
click or touch on the panels when they appear
click or touch on the panels when they appear
Production by Julius Peacock, Anna-Marie Lever and John Lawrence
This interactive video is optimised for use in Chrome, Firefox and
Safari browsers on PC and Mac, as well as Chrome and Safari on iPads.
It will not display in Internet Explorer browsers, on iOS or Android mobile de
vices, or Android tablets.
Continue reading the main storySafari browsers on PC and Mac, as well as Chrome and Safari on iPads.
It will not display in Internet Explorer browsers, on iOS or Android mobile de
vices, or Android tablets.
Truly human
Art and the ability to think of abstract concepts is what distinguishes our species from
other animals - capabilities that also led us to use fire, develop the wheel and come up with the other technologies that have made our kind so successful.
other animals - capabilities that also led us to use fire, develop the wheel and come up with the other technologies that have made our kind so successful.
Its emergence, therefore, marks one of the key moments when our species became
truly human.
truly human.
The dating of the art in Sulawesi will mean that ideas about when and where this
pivotal moment in our evolution occurred will now have to be revised.
pivotal moment in our evolution occurred will now have to be revised.
Compare the painting above from Bone with the one immediately below, which is
from El Castillo cave in northern Spain, and dated to be 37,300 years old by
researchers at Bristol University.
from El Castillo cave in northern Spain, and dated to be 37,300 years old by
researchers at Bristol University.
The Sulawesian and Spanish paintings look very similar, and they are both
about the same age.
about the same age.
For decades, the only evidence of ancient cave art was in Spain and
southern France. It led some to believe that the creative explosion
that led to the art and science we know today began in Europe.
southern France. It led some to believe that the creative explosion
that led to the art and science we know today began in Europe.
But the discovery of paintings of a similar age in Indonesia shatters this view,
according to Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London.
according to Prof Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London.
"It is a really important find; it enables us to get away from this Euro-centric view
of a creative explosion that was special to Europe and did not develop in other
parts of the world until much later," he said.
of a creative explosion that was special to Europe and did not develop in other
parts of the world until much later," he said.
The discovery of 40,000-year-old cave paintings at opposite ends of the globe suggests that the ability to create representational art had its origins further back in time in Africa, before modern humans spread across the rest of the world.
"That's kind of my gut feeling," says Prof Stringer. "The basis for this art was there 60,000 years ago; it may even have been there in Africa before 60,000 years ago and it spread with modern humans".
Dr Adam Brumm, who is the co-leader of the Sulawesi research, believes many well-known sites in Asia, and as far away as Australia, contain art that is extremely old but which has not yet been accurately dated.
"If Sulawesi is anything to go by, where cave art was first recorded over half a century
ago but was assumed to be young, a crucial part of the human story could be right
under our noses" he said.
ago but was assumed to be young, a crucial part of the human story could be right
under our noses" he said.
Dr Muhammad Ramli, an archaeologist working with the Makassar branch of Indonesia's Preservation for Heritage Office, said that the Sulawesian paintings in Maros were being
eroded by the pollution coming from an upsurge in local industrial activities.
eroded by the pollution coming from an upsurge in local industrial activities.
"In the beginning of the 1980s, there were a lot of cave paintings on this site in the
form of hand stencils, as you can see right now. Presently, a lot has been damaged.
form of hand stencils, as you can see right now. Presently, a lot has been damaged.
"There is a strong necessity to conduct conservation studies in order to find the
best way of preserving these sites so that the paintings may last," he told BBC News.
Continue reading the main storybest way of preserving these sites so that the paintings may last," he told BBC News.
Footage and still pictures for the interactive video courtesy of:
University of Bristol for the Spanish cave drawing still, Maxime
Aubert for the Indonesian cave drawing stills, Kinez Riza for the
Indonesian cave footage and the still of the mammoth sculpture,
the National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira for the
Spanish cave footage and Auscape for Australian cave art still.
The video was filmed at Kents Cavern in Torquay.
http://www.kents-cavern.co.uk/
University of Bristol for the Spanish cave drawing still, Maxime
Aubert for the Indonesian cave drawing stills, Kinez Riza for the
Indonesian cave footage and the still of the mammoth sculpture,
the National Museum and Research Centre of Altamira for the
Spanish cave footage and Auscape for Australian cave art still.
The video was filmed at Kents Cavern in Torquay.
http://www.kents-cavern.co.uk/
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