"Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is the world's oldest known rock art, in a cave off the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. The hand stencil has been dated to at least 67,800 years ago, making it 1,100 years older than the earliest example of rock art that was known about before this, produced in Spain by Neanderthals. The Sulawesi work may, its finders say, provide insights into the migration of early humans to Australia."
""Because these crusts grew after the art was made, they tell us the youngest possible age of the images." To create hand stencils such as this one, ancient people blew pigment over their hands while they were placed against the rock. Certain stencils found in Sulawesi, including the 67,800-year-old example, are distinctive because the artists reshaped the tips of the fingers to give them a pointed appearance."
Archaeologists discovered a hand-stencil rock painting in a Sulawesi cave dated to at least 67,800 years ago, making it the oldest known rock art. The dated image predates the previously earliest rock art from Spain by about 1,100 years. A survey of south-east Sulawesi documented 44 sites, including 14 newly recorded locations, and enabled dating of 11 rock art motifs using a new method. Thin mineral crusts that formed on top of the paintings were analysed to provide minimum ages because the crusts grew after the art was created. Certain stencils show reshaped fingertips with a pointed appearance, which may hold symbolic meaning and shed light on early human movements toward Australia.
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