via Science Advances, 13 January 2021: If the headline sounds familiar, it’s because the ‘oldest’ rock art keeps getting found in Indonesia over the last decade. This time, another painting of a Sulawesi Warty Pig is found to be 45,000 years old – the oldest so far, but also unsurprising as I predicted that these finds would emerge just a couple of months ago. Congrats to Adam Brumm, Adhi Agus and the team on this find! The main paper is indxed here, but there is lot of media coverage and there are links to the news stories at the bottom.
Indonesia harbors some of the oldest known surviving cave art. Previously, the earliest dated rock art from this region was a figurative painting of a Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis). This image from Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 in the limestone karsts of Maros-Pangkep, South Sulawesi, was created at least 43,900 years ago (43.9 ka) based on Uranium-series dating. Here, we report the Uranium-series dating of two figurative cave paintings of Sulawesi warty pigs recently discovered in the same karst area. The oldest, with a minimum age of 45.5 ka, is from Leang Tedongnge. The second image, from Leang Balangajia 1, dates to at least 32 ka. To our knowledge, the animal painting from Leang Tedongnge is the earliest known representational work of art in the world. There is no reason to suppose, however, that this early rock art is a unique example in Island Southeast Asia or the wider region.
Source: Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi | Science Advances
See also:
- World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia | Phys.org, 13 Jan 2021
- This 45,500-year-old pig painting is the world’s oldest animal art | National Geographic, 13 Jan 2021
- Pig Painting May Be World’s Oldest Cave Art Yet, Archaeologists Say | New York Times, 13 Jan 2021
- 45,000-Year-Old Pig Painting in Indonesia May Be Oldest Known Animal Art | Smithsonian, 13 Jan 2021
- Earliest Animal Cave Art on Record Has Been Found in Indonesia, And It’s Adorable | Science Alert, 13 Jan 2021
- One of the oldest known cave paintings has been found in Indonesia | Science News, 14 Jan 2021
- Cave Painting of Pigs Might Be the Oldest Known Artwork of Animals | Gizmodo, 14 Jan 2021
- A warty pig painted on a cave wall 45,500 years ago is the world’s oldest depiction of an animal | CNN, 14 Jan 2021
- 45,500-year-old rock painting of pigs in Indonesia is the oldest-known art depicting real, recognisable objects | ABC News, 14 Jan 2021
- World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia | AFP, via ChannelNewsAsia, 14 Jan 2021
- Hidden ‘cave popcorn’ leads to world’s oldest cave art discovery | News.com.au, 14 Jan 2021
- World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia | DW, 14 Jan 2021
- Archaeologists Find Oldest Picture in the World. It’s a Pig | Haaretz, 14Jan 2021
- At 45,500 Years, This Could Be The Oldest Animal Painting In Human History | India Times, 14 Jan 2021
- Indonesia: Archaeologists find world’s oldest animal cave painting | BBC. 14 Jan 2021
- Life-size painting of a warty PIG dating back 45,500 years is found in a cave in Indonesia and could be the ‘world’s oldest-known figurative artwork’ | Daily Mail, 14 Jan 2021
- Researchers discover 45,000 year old cave paintings on Indonesian island | Art Critique, 14 Jan 2021
- The world’s oldest known cave painting in Indonesia shows a chonky wild pig | ZME Science, 14 Jan 2021
