Researchers have found the world’s oldest allegorical cave painting to be 51,200 years old using a new carbon dating technique, according to a recent study.
A pig’s mouth is open in a red painting located in the Liang Karambuang Cave on the island of Sulawesi, Indonesia. Also, showing human and animal parts.
A study of 51,200-year-old cave art in Indonesia was published Wednesday (July 3) in the journal Nature. It was carried out by a team of 23 researchers from Australia’s Griffith University, Southern Cross University and the Indonesian National Institute of Research and Innovation.
Although the samples were collected in 2017, they were not dated until earlier this year. The painting is 5,000 years older than the previous oldest cave art, a painting of a wild boar, discovered in 2021 in Liang Tedongnge, Indonesia.
Here’s a look at the painting, its significance and what the new dating technique is all about.
What does the painting show?
“One figure appears to be holding an object near the pig’s throat. Another is upside down directly above the pig’s head with legs spread. The third figure is larger than the others and grand in appearance; It may hold an unidentified object and wear an elaborate headdress… The way these human figures associated with the boar are depicted conveys a sense of dynamic action. A story is being told,” according to an article published by The Conversation written by the researchers involved in the study.
Why is painting important?
The researchers in the study wrote: “Our findings show that allegorical depictions of anthropoids and animals have a deeper origin in the history of modern human (Homo sapiens) iconography than has been recognized to date.
Archaeological evidence shows that Neanderthals (considered to be the earliest human relatives) began marking caves as early as 75,000 years ago, but these markings were generally amorphous.
The researcher adds that, based on our dating work, depictions of anthropomorphic figures (including therianthropes) interacting with animals appear to appear in Late Pleistocene cave art of Sulawesi tens of thousands of years later with a frequency not seen elsewhere in Europe.
This indicates that a rich storytelling culture developed early in the long history of H. sapiens in this region.
Nayanjot Lahiri, historian, archaeologist and professor of history at Ashoka University, said, “This is an amazing discovery that should be celebrated.”
What is the new dating technique?
The discovery is based on dating using uranium series (U-series) analysis of calcite deposits overlying rock art in limestone caves. Laser beams were used during the process and researchers were able to date the paintings by comparing the ratio between the parent isotope (uranium) and the daughter isotope (thorium).
Using the same method, the researchers also dated another hunting scene in a cave painting at Liang Bulu Sibang 4, previously believed to be 43,900 years old. Their discovery indicates that the painting is at least 4,000 years older than first estimated.
“This method makes it possible to more easily demonstrate the ambiguous relationship between the calcium carbonate material used for dating and the rock art pigment layer(s) to which it corresponds,” the researchers said in the study.
Lahiri said there are not many directly dated cave paintings. “In India, there’s a lot of rock art in places like Madhya Pradesh, but you’ve never had this kind of dating.” He added,
“This discovery underscores how important science is to the work of archaeologists. The fact that we have such an early date allows us to think about how it was conceived at the time and more.”
