A recent discovery on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi has revealed what may be the oldest evidence of narrative art ever found.

Dated Rock Art Panel at Leang Karampuang. Credit: Griffith University

Researchers from Australia’s Griffith University, the Indonesian National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), and Southern Cross University, co-led by Adhi Agus Oktaviana, have identified a cave painting that depicts human-like figures interacting with a wild pig. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest that humans have been using art to tell stories for much longer than previously believed.

The artwork was found in the limestone cave of Leang Karampuang in the Maros-Pangkep region of South Sulawesi. Initially dated at 43,900 years old, new research using a novel laser ablation uranium-series (LA-U-series) dating technique has revealed that the painting is at least 51,200 years old. This makes it the oldest known narrative art in the world, surpᴀssing the previous record held by a lifesize depiction of a wild pig in the nearby Leang Tedongnge cave, dated at 45,500 years old.

The painting shows three human-like figures, known as therianthropes, interacting with a wild pig. Therianthropes, which are part-human, part-animal figures, are significant because they suggest an ability to imagine supernatural beings, a trait not observed in other archaic species. Prior to this discovery, the oldest known therianthrope was the 40,000-year-old ‘Lion Man’ sculpture found in Germany.

PH๏τosтιтched panorama of the rock art panel (a), and Tracing of the dated rock art panel showing the results of LA-U-series dating (b). Credit: Oktaviana et al., Nature (2024)

The breakthrough in dating the cave art came from the use of the LA-U-series dating method, co-developed by Professor Maxime Aubert of Griffith University and Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau of Southern Cross University. This technique involves vaporizing minute samples of calcium carbonate, a natural deposit on the cave walls, with a laser to measure the ratio of thorium to uranium. This method provides a more accurate age by avoiding regions affected by natural diagenesis processes, which can alter the original composition of the samples.

Professor Aubert explained: “We have previously used the uranium-series method to date very old rock art in two parts of Indonesia, Sulawesi and Borneo, but our new LA-U-series technique is more accurate, allowing us to date the earliest calcium carbonate layers formed on the art and get closer to the point in time the art was created. It will revolutionize rock art dating.”

The discovery has significant implications for our understanding of early human culture and cognition. Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University and co-author of the study,said: “Storytelling is a hugely important part of human evolution and possibly even helps to explain our success as a species, but finding evidence for it in art, especially in very early cave art, is exceptionally rare.”

Tracing of the painted scene showing the human-like figures (H1, H2 and H3) interacting with the pig. Credit: Oktaviana et al., Nature (2024)

The narrative nature of the Sulawesi paintings challenges long-held ᴀssumptions that early figurative art consisted solely of single-figure panels without interaction or storytelling elements. “It is noteworthy that the oldest cave art we have found in Sulawesi thus far consists of recognizable scenes: paintings that depict humans and animals interacting in such a way that we can infer the artist intended to communicate a narrative of some kind – a story,” said Brumm.

Maxime Aubert speculated that the paintings were likely made by the first group of humans who migrated through Southeast Asia before arriving in Australia around 65,000 years ago. This timeline aligns with other archaeological findings suggesting that humans evolved in Africa more than 300,000 years ago and began creating simple lines and patterns in ochre as early as 100,000 years ago.

The team plans to continue surveying and dating more rock art in the region. Adhi Agus Oktaviana, the study’s lead author and an archaeologist at the Center for Prehistory and Austronesian Studies (CPAS) in Indonesia, recently found another painting in a cave depicting three figures: a human, a half-human-half-bird, and a bird. The analysis of this new find is yet to be conducted.

More information: Oktaviana, A.A., Joannes-Boyau, R., Hakim, B. et al. (2024). Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago. Nature. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07541-7