World Oldest Rock Art Found in Indonesia Muna Island

World Oldest Rock Art Found in Indonesia Muna Island

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Recently, Archaeologists discovered the world’s oldest rock art in Indonesia’s Muna Island, dating back at least 67,800 years. This artwork provides evidence of early human migration toward Australia and highlights sophisticated ancient creativity. 

Highlights of World’s Oldest Rock Art Discovery

• Discovery: Archaeologists from Indonesia and Australia have uncovered the world’s oldest known rock art in a limestone cave on Muna Island, southeastern Sulawesi, dating back at least 67,800 years. The discovery was made by National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) and Griffith University researchers.
• Location: The rock art was found in a limestone cave called Liang Metanduno on Muna Island, southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia. Muna is part of the broader Indonesian archipelago known for archaeological sites spanning tens of thousands of years. 
• Artistic Representation: The artwork includes hand stencils—negative outlines created by placing a hand on a wall and spraying pigment around it. 
  • One stencil shows deliberately altered fingertips, shaped to appear pointed or claw-like, hinting at symbolic intention beyond simple outline art. 
  • These stylistic traits appear to be unique to the Sulawesi region’s prehistoric tradition, suggesting a localized cultural motif rather than a random mark.
  • The artistic technique implies advanced cognitive abilities, including abstract thinking and possibly symbolic or ritual expression.
• Scientific Dating Techniques: Researchers used uranium-series (U-series) dating, analysing microscopic mineral layers that formed over the pigment, to determine a minimum age of at least 67,800 years for the hand stencil. 
  • This method measures how uranium decays relative to thorium, providing precise minimum age constraints for cave art older than what radiocarbon dating can reliably achieve.
• Human Evolution: The finding provides strong evidence that early modern humans with the cognitive ability for symbolic thought were present in Southeast Asia well before 60,000 years ago. 
  • This supports theories of early human dispersal out of Africa into Asia and onward toward Sahul (Australia–New Guinea) around the same time. 
  • The art’s age strengthens the “long chronology” migration model, aligning archaeological and genetic evidence for early human expansion into Australasia.

Other Global Oldest Rock Arts

• Maltravieso Cave Hand Stencils (Spain): The Maltravieso Cave in Cáceres, Spain, contains prehistoric hand stencils dated to at least 64,000 years ago using uranium-thorium dating, making them among the oldest known rock art in Europe and predating the arrival of Homo sapiens there. These stencils indicate that Neanderthals may have engaged in symbolic art production long before modern humans reached Europe.
• Leang Karampuang Figurative Painting (Indonesia): The Leang Karampuang cave in South Sulawesi, Indonesia houses one of the oldest known figurative rock paintings, dated to about 51,200 years ago. It depicts three human-like figures interacting with a wild pig, illustrating narrative or symbolic composition. This finding, published in Nature (2024), highlights that early humans in Southeast Asia were producing complex figurative art for tens of thousands of years.
• Lubang Jeriji Saléh Bull Painting (Borneo, Indonesia): In Lubang Jeriji Saléh cave on Borneo (East Kalimantan, Indonesia), researchers discovered a figurative painting of a bull dated to around 40,000 years ago. This artwork is among the oldest figurative depictions of animals worldwide, showcasing sophisticated use of pigment and naturalistic representation. It underlines Southeast Asia’s crucial role in early artistic expression.
• Cave of El Castillo Red Disk (Spain): The Cave of El Castillo in Cantabria, Spain, has a red painted disk dated to at least 40,800 years ago using uranium-thorium methods, making it one of the earliest dated cave paintings in Europe. Its abstract form precedes many later animal and human figures in the region, indicating that symbolic mark-making began early in the European Upper Paleolithic.
• Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc Cave (France): The Chauvet Cave in Ardèche, France contains some of the most well-preserved Upper Paleolithic figurative art known, primarily dated between about 37,000 and 30,000 years ago. It features animals such as lions, rhinoceroses, and horses in highly detailed compositions. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Chauvet highlights early artistic sophistication in Europe in the Aurignacian period, offering insight into prehistoric symbolism and ritual.