Significance of world’s oldest cave painting discovered in Indonesia’
- Category
Art and culture
- Published
19th Jan, 2021
-
A team of archaeologists has discovered what may be the world's oldest known cave painting dating back to more than 45,000 years.
Context
A team of archaeologists has discovered what may be the world's oldest known cave painting dating back to more than 45,000 years.
About
Key features of the painting
- The cave painting depicts a wild boar endemic to the Sulawesi island of Indonesia, where the painting was found.
- It dates back to more than 45,000 years.
- The painting was made using red ochre pigment.
- These pigs have been hunted by humans for tens of thousands of years and are the most commonly depicted animal in the ice age rock art of the island.
- The painting was found in the Leang Tedongnge cave.
- The cave is situated in a remote valley surrounded by limestone cliffs, and is only accessible during the dry season because of flooding during the wet season.

The Sulawesi island
- Sulawesi is also known as Celebes.
- It is one of the four Greater Sunda Islands which are recognized as Borneo, Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra.
- It is governed by Indonesia.
- The central Indonesian island is situated between Asia and Australia and has a long history of human occupation.
- It occupies an area of over 174,000 sq. km.

|
Dating method
- Archaeologists used a method called U-series isotope analysis, which uses calcium carbonate deposits that form naturally on the cave wall surface to determine its age.
- They used a calcium carbonate deposit, also referred to as “cave popcorn” that had formed on the rear foot of one of the pig figures.
What is the significance of the cave painting?
- It shows the oldest evidence for the presence of hominins beyond the southeastern limits of the Ice Age Asian continent.
- It depicts the food habit of Hominins which includes the boars as food.
- The painting is a form of creative thinking and artistic expression at that time.
Hominins
- Hominins include modern humans, extinct human species and our immediate ancestors.
- Homo sapiens are the first modern humans who evolved from their hominid predecessors between 200,000-300,000 years ago.
- It is estimated that these modern humans started migrating outside of Africa some 70,000-100,000 years ago.
|