The oldest examples of figurative cave art were discovered on the Indonesian island of South Sulawesi by Australian and Indonesian scientists.
This painting of a wild boar and three human figures is at least 51,200 years old, making it over 5,000 years older than the oldest known cave paintings.
This discovery brings forward the period when modern humans first demonstrated creative thinking abilities.
Professor Maxime Ober of Griffith University in Australia told BBC News that the discovery would change how we think about human evolution.
“This painting tells a complex story. It’s the oldest evidence we have for storytelling. It shows that humans at the time had the ability to think in abstract terms,” he said.
The image shows a pig standing still with its mouth half open, and at least three human figures. The largest human figure appears to be holding a stick with both arms outstretched. The second figure is directly in front of the pig, with its head next to its nose. It also appears to be holding a stick, one end of which may be touching the pig's throat. The last human figure appears to be upside down, with its legs pointing upward and outward. One hand appears to be reaching out toward and touching the pig's head.
The team of scientists was led by Adhi Agus Oktaviana, an Indonesian rock art expert from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) in Jakarta, who says narrative storytelling has been an important part of Indonesia’s early human cultures since very early times.
“Humans have probably been speaking for much longer than 51,200 years, but words don’t fossilize, so we can only tell from indirect evidence, such as depictions of scenes in art. And Sulawesi art is the oldest evidence known to archaeology so far,” he said.
The earliest evidence of cave paintings dates back to 75,000 to 100,000 years ago and was found in Blombos Cave in southern Africa. It consists of geometric patterns.
The new paintings in the Leang Karampuang limestone cave in Maros-Pangkep district of South Sulawesi show figurative art, and abstract representations of the world around the artist or people. They therefore represent the evolution of our species’ thought processes that gave rise to art and science.
According to the journal's senior editor, Dr. Henry Gee, the question arises as to what triggered this awakening of the human mind. Details are published in Nature.
“Something happened about 50,000 years ago. Shortly after that, all other human species, including Neanderthals and the so-called hobbits, went extinct.
“It's very romantic to think that something happened in the human brain at some point in time, but I think it's more likely that there were examples of expressive art from an earlier time.”
Professor Chris Stringer of the Natural History Museum in London believes there may be examples of ancient representational art in Africa, where modern humans first evolved, but so far no evidence has been found.
“This discovery reinforces the idea that representational art was first created in Africa 50,000 years ago and that the concept spread as humans expanded.
“If true, there is still a lot of new supporting evidence coming from other parts of the world, including Africa. Clearly, this oldest date is from one panel at one site. Hopefully, more dating will be done at more sites to confirm this obviously important discovery.”
The new dating was made possible by a new method that uses lasers to cut small sections of the artwork, allowing researchers to study other parts of the artwork in more detail and make more accurate dating measurements.
As new methods become more widely used, the dating of some cave art sites around the world could change, potentially further delaying the emergence of representational art.
Until a decade ago, the only evidence of ancient cave art was in places like Spain and southern France, leading some to believe that the creative explosion that led to the art and science we know today began in Europe.
However, in 2014, a colored outline of a human hand was discovered in South Suluwesi. It shattered that view.
Then, in November 2018, in the Lubang Jeriji Saleh Cave on the Indonesian island of Borneo, scientists discovered what is believed to be the oldest known representational art work of an unknown animal, estimated to be over 40,000 years old.
Griffith University professor Adam Blum says recent discoveries of Indonesian cave art offer new insights into the central role storytelling plays in art history.
“What is remarkable about the oldest cave art discovered so far in Sulawesi is that it consists of recognizable scenes – paintings depicting humans and animals interacting, suggesting that the artist was trying to tell some kind of narrative, a story,” he said.