New discoveries in Indonesia are challenging our understanding of the timeline of early human artistic expression. Researchers have identified a hand stencil in a cave on Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, that may be at least 67,800 years old – potentially predating the world’s oldest-known dated cave painting of a wild pig found in nearby South Sulawesi in 2024, which is believed to be around 51,200 years old.
Unearthing the Past
The painting, found at the Liang Metanduno cave, is one of many rock art sites on Muna and neighboring Buton Islands. Archaeologist Adhi Agus Oktaviana from the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) has been exploring Muna since 2015, specifically searching for these ancient hand stencils. The newly discovered stencil, though faded, appears to depict a person riding a horse alongside a chicken.
Determining the age of the artwork required a delicate process. Oktaviana took a small sample of the rock, which was then analyzed using uranium series dating by colleagues Renaud Joannes-Boyau from Southern Cross University and Maxime Aubert from Griffith University in Australia. This method focused on mineral deposits formed *over* the pigment, created using ocher, to establish a minimum age for the painting.
A Unique Artistic Style
What sets the Metanduno hand stencil apart is a peculiar detail: the tip of one finger appears intentionally narrowed. “As far as I know, it’s the only place in the world where there’s rock art like that,” said Aubert. “So we’re not sure how they do it. And we don’t know why they’re doing this. We think maybe it’s to make them look like an animal hands with claws.”
While the research team initially attributed the artwork to early Homo sapiens, other experts have raised questions. Human evolution researcher Dino Mozardien suggested the stencil could potentially be the work of Denisovans, an archaic human subspecies that lived across Asia between 200,000 and 32,000 years ago, noting similarities in technique between Denisovans and Homo sapiens.
Implications for Understanding Early Migration
Regardless of which hominin species created the art, the discovery adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting that Sulawesi served as a key stepping stone in the early human migration towards Australia through the Sahul paleo continent. As archaeologist Adam Brumm stated, the findings are “an important puzzle piece needed to draw the bigger picture of early human migration in the region.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How was the age of the painting determined?
Researchers used uranium series analysis on mineral deposits found on top of the pigment, providing a minimum age of at least 67,800 years for the artwork.
What makes this hand stencil unique?
The hand stencil at Liang Metanduno cave features a finger that appears to have been artificially narrowed, a characteristic not observed in rock art anywhere else in the world.
Could this painting have been made by a species other than Homo sapiens?
Human evolution researcher Dino Mozardien suggested the stencil might have been created by Denisovans, a subspecies of archaic humans, due to similarities in artistic techniques.
What does this discovery tell us about the capabilities of our ancestors?
