A.Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest cave painting: a life-size picture of a wild boar that was created in Indonesia at least 45,500 years ago. The find provides the earliest evidence of human settlement in the region, as the authors write in the journal “Science Advances”.
The picture of the wild boar was discovered in 2017 on Sulawesi Island in the Leang Tedongnge Cave. This is in a remote valley surrounded by steep limestone cliffs, about an hour’s walk from the nearest road. The cave is only accessible during the dry season.
The life-size likeness of the Sulawesi warthog was painted with dark red ocher pigments and has a short crest of upright hair and a pair of horn-like facial warts that are characteristic of adult males of this species. There are also two handprints on the back of the pig as well as two pigs facing it, but only partially preserved.
Humans have hunted Sulawesi warthogs for tens of thousands of years. According to the study authors, they are an important element of the region’s prehistoric works of art, especially during the Ice Age. According to co-author Maxime Aubert, painting could even be much older. “The people who painted the picture were completely modern. They were just like us, they had all the options and tools to create any painting they wanted, ”added Aubert in an interview with the AFP news agency.
The oldest cave painting discovered to date also came from Sulawesi. It shows a group of partly human, partly animal figures that hunt mammals and has been estimated to be at least 43,900 years old.
.
source https://pledgetimes.com/indonesia-worlds-oldest-cave-painting-discovered/
Disqus comments