An Indonesian cave painting depicting a pig with a human-like figure dates back at least 51,200 years and is known to be the oldest known example of figurative art in the world.

“I like to define us as a storytelling species, and this is the earliest evidence of that.” Maxime Oberle Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.

The pig artwork was discovered on the ceiling of a limestone cave in Leang Karampuang, Sulawesi, in 2017.

In 2019, Obert and his colleagues dated a hunting scene discovered in a nearby cave called Leang Bru Shipon 4 to at least 43,900 years ago.

Now, researchers have used new, more precise techniques to date both works of art, finding that the paintings at Reang Bulu Siphon 4 are actually more than 4,000 years older than previously thought, and the artwork at Reang Karampuan is even older.

According to Obert, the artwork at both sites predates the oldest known rock art in Europe by at least 10,000 years.

Modern people, Homo sapiens“We know they were in the area at that time, because they reached Australia by 60,000 to 65,000 years ago,” Obert said. “We think these art works were done by modern humans.”

The same cave contains depictions of creatures with both human and animal attributes, indicating spiritual beliefs.

“These rock art are not just little symbols,” team members say. Renaud Joanne Boyau “They were actually depicting scenes from the hunt and life, and were already using art to tell stories, inhabit a spirit world and try to make sense of their environment. This tells us a lot about human evolution,” said researchers from Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia. Homo sapiens.”

Previous methods for dating artworks relied on chemical extraction of samples, which required crushing and destroying large portions of the rock.

The new technique involves taking a 5-millimeter-diameter core from the rock’s crust. A laser is used to remove material from the surface of this core, less than half the thickness of a human hair, which is then examined to measure the isotopic decay of the minerals. Once this is done, the core can be inserted into the rock art, much less disruptive than traditional methods.

Joannes Boyau says the new technique could lead to a major revision of the history of rock art around the world.

Kira Westaway Researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, say improved dating methods have allowed them to more accurately assess when the Sulawesi art was actually created.

“This is really significant given that the first period was already considered groundbreaking,” she says. “This has huge implications for understanding the capabilities of these early artists who passed through Indonesia and the types of skills and tools they already had when they entered Australia.”

Homo sapiens They probably weren’t the only species with complex symbolic practices. Martin Pore “It is highly likely that other hominins had at least some capabilities in this regard, as can be inferred from the highly sophisticated material culture of Neanderthals,” say researchers from the University of Western Australia.

“It will be important to study further archaeological evidence from this region in the future to understand and confirm the social, economic and cultural context of these statues during the Late Pleistocene,” Poa said.