Image: Griffith University******************
Archaeologists in Indonesia have stumbled upon an extraordinarily old cave painting which appears to depict human-like figures in pursuit of wild pigs and buffaloes. It’s quite possibly the oldest portrayal of a hunting scene in the archaeological record, but the vague nature of the artwork leaves it open to interpretation.
(New)research
published today in Nature describes the discovery. of an approximately 49, 1298 – year-old cave painting found at the Leang Bulu ‘Sipong 4 site in South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
Older cave art dating to around (*******************************************************************************************, ****************************************************************************************************** (years ago has been) ****************discoveredin Europe, but those drawings, featuring animals, dots, geometric signs, and hand stencils, were almost certainly produced by Neanderthals. An older, non-figurative art piece attributed to our species was
As for cave paintings depicting hunting scenes, in which both humans and animals are unambiguously shown together, that’s surprisingly rare. Prior to the new discovery, the oldest known hunting scenes belonged to Upper Paleolithic European cultures, sometimes referred to as Magdalenian cultures, dating to around (***************************************************************************************************, 13 to (*****************************************************************************************************, 000 years ago, including thefamous drawing
Found in 2014, the 44, the year-old cave painting appears to be a single composition that measures around 4 meters ( feet) wide. The painting isn’t perfectly legible due to bright splotches that formed over it, but much of the scene is still visible. The artist, or artists, appears to be depicting tiny human-like figures who are brandishing spears and / or ropes as they pursue buffaloes and pigs.
“These images represent some of the oldest storytelling anywhere in the world and contain elements that have never been seen together — a hunting scene depicting hunting strategies combined with the use of therianthropes, ”Kira Westaway, an associate professor from the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Macquarie University in Australia, told Gizmodo. “This is not just a simple representation of themselves, such as a hand stencil, but a complex representation of their existence and potentially their beliefs — to find this at this early age is astonishing,” said Westaway, who was involved with the new research.
Image: Griffith University**************************************
“These features are small, hard, popcorn-like nodular growths comprised of calcium carbonate materials that form naturally on the limestone cave walls and ceilings over very long periods of time and sometimes, fortunately, as in this case, over the prehistoric paintings, ”said Brumm. “I say fortunately because in some instances it is possible to date when these mineral deposits formed using the uranium-series method, which essentially measures the radioactive decay of elements within the calcium carbonate.”
So the popcorn-like growths, which formed well after the drawing was made, were used to date the piece, which means the painting could be older — perhaps considerably older — than the date given of (************************************************************************************************, years ago. The earliest fossil evidence of Homo sapiensin this part of the world dates to around , 13 years ago in Sumatra, but evidence of archaic humans, namely Homo erectus ********************************************, living in Indonesia date back to — get this — around 1.5 million years ago in Java. Intriguingly, Denisovans, a sister group to the Neanderthals, were still around when this cave painting was made, and fossil and genetic evidence suggests they made it into southeast Asia and Melanesia. We asked Dr. Stringer if this art could’ve been produced by other humans, Denisovans included.
“Well, they might still have survived in Asia at this date, but this kind of art was certainly demonstrably created by (Homo sapiens) at later dates in various parts of the world, so it is most likely to be the work of our species, which is represented in the region at more than (******************************************************************************************, years ago in Sumatra (Lida Ajer) and about (************************************************************************************************, 000 years ago in Borneo (Niah Cave) and Australia (Mungo), ”said Stringer.
The Indonesian island of Sulawesi, showing the location of Leang Bulu ‘Sipong 4 in the limestone karst region of Pangkep, near Makassar. (Image: Kim Newman
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“Although these animals were depicted in outline profile with irregular patterns of infill the figures were executed with a relatively high degree of anatomical realism and certain [anatomical features] of these species are clearly represented, such as, in the case of Sulawesi warty pig, its distinctive head crest, and, with the anoas, their characteristic straight, dagger-like horns, ”Brumm told Gizmodo.
Brumm said “we can’t ever know the real meanings of this cave painting, ”but the“ depiction of armed human-like figures surrounding the animals and confronting them with what seem to be ropes or spears, at least in our view, is fairly convincing evidence that this is a hunting scene of some description, ” he explained, adding that it’s wholly plausible that “the presence of therianthropes possibly implies a spiritual dimension to the art” and it could represent “some kind of myth or religious story, but of course we can only guess.”
Given the extreme date and location of this cave painting, it’s exceptionally unlikely that artworks seen later in Europe had any cultural connection.
“Certainly these paintings show that any Eurocentric narrative of the development of such complex representational art must be wrong, ”Stringer told Gizmodo. “In my view, comparable artistic creations in Australia will eventually be placed to this same remote period of time, and even older representational art may one day be found in Africa, preceding significant dispersals of modern humans from there, beginning around (*******************************************************************************************, ********************************************************************************************************* years ago. ”
Relatedly, Westaway said“ religious thoughts and hunting strategies that are older than those depicted in European rock art certainly changes our perspectives on the abilities of the modern humans that traveled down through Asia en route to Australia. ”
Image: Griffith University**********************************************But does the cave painting actually portray a hunting scene? Paul Bahn, author of The First Artists: In Search of the World’s Oldest Art, isn’t convinced, saying the interpretation of the piece is “somewhat excessive and simplistic.” Here’s what he said to Gizmodo in an email:
The big animals are fine, and seem straightforward to our modern eyes. The ‘humanoid’ figures, on the other hand, are so tiny and badly weathered that their interpretation is by no means clear. They might be therianthropes, but this is highly uncertain. Therianthropes are extremely rare in European Ice Age art, and in fact this collection — if valid — almost outnumbers those in Europe! For example, the supposed ‘tail’ on [one of the figures pictured above] could just as easily be a backward-pointing phallus, like the one on Europe’s most famous therianthrope in Les Trois Frères cave [i.e. the aforementioned bird-headed humanoid found in France].
Stringer, on the other hand, said some experts might question the uranium -series dating of the wall markings, but the “method looks to have been applied carefully, and this is almost certainly the oldest dated representational art so far,” he told Gizmodo. As for the interpretation of the therianthropes and the ropes, Stringer said that was “more speculative,” but he found the authors’ interpretations to be “reasonable.”
It’s pretty amazing how a single old painting can cause so much conversation and speculation — but such is the nature of art and science. It’s a magical thing when these two disciplines converge, and it’s safe to say this cave painting will continue to spark discussions and arguments over the years to come.
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