A statue of a ferocious pig painted on an Indonesian cave wall in 45,500 years ago may be the ‘oldest figurative artwork in the world’, a study has said.
Researchers from Australia and Indonesia found the picture of the native wild boar on the back wall of Leang Tedongnge cave in the south of the island of Sulawesi.
The team said the image provides the earliest evidence for the presence of anatomically modern humans on Sulawesi.
A second image of a warty pig – this one about 13,500 years younger – was also found in the nearby Leang Balangajia cave south of Leang Tedongnge.
This image, the team said, also featured four hand-held stencils and several other poorly preserved animal stencils.
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An image of a warty pig (pictured) painted on an Indonesian cave wall in 45,500 years ago may be the ‘oldest figurative artwork in the world’, a study has said
‘It shows a pig with a short coat of straight hair and a pair of horn-like facial warts in front of the eyes – a typical feature of Sulawesi adult wild pigs,’ said paper author and archaeologist Adam Brumm of Griffith University in Queensland.
‘Painted using ocher red pigment, the pig appears to monitor a fight or social interaction between two other warty pigs.’
The researchers explained that such recognizable ‘scenes’ are quite uncommon in early cave art. In fact, it was the only team that reported about a year ago on the oldest rock art scene, which was rebuilt 43,900 years ago.
That image – found in another limestone cave in the area – showed human creatures of a hybrid animal hunting Sulawesi guinea pigs and black cattle.
Dr Brumm Leang Tedongnge explained, ‘it is in a valley enclosed by steep lime cliffs and is only accessible by a narrow cave passage in the dry season, as the valley floor is completely flooded. . ‘
In fact, the researchers said, a remote Bugis community living in the hidden valley says it has never been visited by Westerners.
‘People have been hunting Sulawesi’s silly pigs for tens of thousands of years,’ said paper co-author and archaeologist Basran Burhan, who is also from Griffith University.
These pigs were the most commonly seen ice-age rock art on the island, suggesting that they have long been valued both as food and as a focus for creative thinking and feeling. artistic. ‘
The image ‘shows a pig with a short coat of straight hair and a pair of horn-like facial warts in front of the eyes – a typical feature of Sulawesi adult wild pigs,’ said the paper’s author and University archaeologist Adam Brumm Griffith in Queensland. ‘Painted using ocher red pigment, the pig appears to monitor a fight or social interaction between two other warty pigs.’ In the photograph, the art of the cave as seen in colored image (left) and sketch (right)
The art was carefully sampled by paper author and geologist Maxime Aubert, also of Griffith University, until it was radiometrically extruded until at least 45,500 years ago.
‘Rock art has been very challenging so far,’ explained Dr Aubert.
‘However, rock art made in limestone caves can sometimes be dated using Uranium analysis of calcium carbonate deposits -‘ popcorn cave ’- that form naturally on the surface of the cave wall which is used as a ‘canvas’ for the art.’
At Leang Tedongnge, a small cave popcorn was created on the back base of one of the pig numbers after it was painted, so when a date was given, it gave us a minimum age for painting. ‘
The date of the uranium series also established that the second warty pig statue – the one in Leang Balangajia – appeared to have been fixed to the cave wall at least 32,000 years ago.
‘We have now included several examples of early rock art in Sulawesi, including animal paintings and narrative scenes that are both excellent for the quality of their execution. and so rare throughout the world, ‘said Professor Aubert.
According to the team, the Sulawesi rock art they have dated represents some of the earliest evidence – if not, for the presence of modern day people in Wallacea, the area that gives into the islands between Asia and Australia-New Guinea. Pictured is Leang Tedongnge
A second photograph of a warty pig (pictured) – this one about 13,500 years younger – was also found in the nearby Leang Balangajia cave south of Leang Tedongnge. This image, the team said, also featured four hand stencils and photos of other animals that were not poorly preserved.
‘This discovery confirms the remarkable antiquity of Indonesia’s rock art and its great importance for understanding the deep history of art and its role in the early story of mankind,’ said Dr Brumm.
According to the team, the Sulawesi rock art they have dated represents some of the earliest evidence – if not, for the presence of modern day people in Wallacea, the area that gives into the islands between Asia and Australia-New Guinea.
‘Our species must have gone through Wallacea with watercraft to reach Australia at least 65,000 years ago,’ Dr Aubert explained.
‘However, the Wallacean islands have been little studied and at present the earliest archaeological evidence excavated from this area is much younger.’
With their first study completed, the researchers are now awaiting a radiometric date of another rock art find from the island – and said they expect future work in the area to reveal ancient art, probably dating as far back as 65,000 years ago.
The full results of the study have been published in the journal Science Advances.
Dr Brumm Leang Tedongnge explained, ‘it is in a valley enclosed by steep lime cliffs and is only accessible by a narrow cave passage in the dry season, as the valley floor is completely flooded. . ‘Indeed,’ said the team, the remote community of Bugis living in the hidden valley says it has never been visited by Westerners before
Australian and Indonesian researchers have found the picture of the native wild boar on the back wall of Leang Tedongnge cave in the south of the island of Sulawesi
ART CAVE: OPERATIONS RECEIVED AS OVER 40,000 YEARS CARRIED OUT
The most famous cave art is found in Spain and France, but it is found all over the world.
The famous Upper Palaeolithic cave art in Europe dates back to about 21,000 years.
In the last few years scholars have recorded cave art found in Indonesia that is believed to be around 40,000 years old – going before the most popular European cave art.
The author of the new report, Shigeru Miyagawa, explained in the analysis the dangers of cave paintings.
He said: ‘Cave art is everywhere. Cave art is found in every major continent inhabited by homo sapiens.
‘You find it in Europe, in the Middle East, in Asia, everywhere – just as a human language.’