This handout photograph released by Griffith University's Maixme Aubert on Jan 21, 2026, shows a view of prehistoric cave paintings in the Sulawesi island of Indonesia. - AFP
JAKARTA: Archaeologists have discovered what is believed to be the world's oldest cave art: a hand stencil at least 67,800 years old, found in a limestone cave on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island, according to a study published in the journal Nature on Wednesday (Jan 21), reported Xinhua.
The discovery was made by an international research team involving Indonesian and Australian archaeologists.
The artwork was found in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, part of Sulawesi's karst landscape.
Researchers have discovered slender stenciled hands with deliberately elongated, claw-like fingernails in the caves of Sulawesi, in the oldest example of rock art in the world, dating back 67,800 years. - Courtesy of Griffith University's Maixme Aubert/AFP
Researchers used uranium-series dating to analyse microscopic mineral layers that formed on and beneath the painting, establishing a minimum age that exceeds previous rock art discoveries in the region by more than 15,000 years.
The study suggests the cave was used for artistic activity over an extended period of time, with paintings created repeatedly over a span of at least 35,000 years.
Scientists said the findings provide important evidence for understanding early human migration into Sahul, the ancient landmass that once connected Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania.
The team believes the Sulawesi artists were closely linked to the ancestors of Indigenous Australians, supporting theories that modern humans may have reached Sahul by at least 65,000 years ago.
The hand stencil is considered a globally unique variant, with its finger outlines deliberately narrowed after creation, possibly reflecting symbolic or cultural meaning. - Bernama-Xinhua
