World’s Oldest Cave Painting Discovered in Indonesia

World's Oldest Cave Painting Discovered in Indonesia

The painting has been dated as 45,500 years old - Image Source: Twitter

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have found the world’s oldest known cave painting, depicting a wild pig, in an isolated valley in Indonesia.

The red painting, depicting a wild pig, was discovered by research students on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Nestled in a steep valley an hour’s walk from the nearest road, it is believed the primitive artwork is 45,500 years old – making it the oldest cave painting in the world.

Measuring 136cm by 54cm (53in by 21in), the Sulawesi warty pig was painted using dark red ochre pigment and has a short crest of upright hair, as well as a pair of horn-like facial warts characteristic of adult males of the species. The animals have been hunted by humans for tens of thousands of years, and often feature in primitive artwork.

The cave painting now represents the oldest evidence of humans in the region, though scientists believe that further tests could prove it to be older than currently believed. Humans who travelled to Australia 65,000 years ago would have passed through the area, and archaeologists hope that more research could shed more light on the mystery of the prehistoric migration.


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Oisin Sweeney

Oisin is an Irish writer based in Seville, the sunny capital of Andalucia. After starting his working life as a bookseller, he moved into journalism and cut his teeth as a reporter at one of Ireland's biggest news websites. Since joining Euro Weekly News in November, he has enjoyed covering the latest stories from Seville, Spain and further afield - with special interests in crime, cybersecurity, and European politics. Anyone who can pronounce his name first try gets a free cerveza...

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