Find the world's oldest artwork in a cave in Indonesia

Scientists discovered the oldest human rock painting depicting the "superhuman" hunt.

Hamrullah archaeologist discovered an ancient painting about 2.4 m long on the wall of Leang Bulu 'Sipong 4 cave , Sulawesi island, Indonesia, 2017. The international team of scientists conducted a study of the painting and published the results in Nature magazine on 11/12. The painting depicts the hunting trip of humanoid but animal-headed creatures. They wielded spears, apparently attacking wild pigs and buffaloes.

A corner of a painting of a safari hunt in Leang Bulu 'Sipong cave 4. (Photo: UPI).

Prior to that, the oldest analog picture dates back to 19,000 years. It depicts the bison bison hunt, drawn in a cave in France. The painting in Indonesia shows that this art form was born very early, the scope of distribution is also very wide.

"When you excavate, you often find things that the ancients left behind. But rock art is not something that is discarded but rather a message. We can feel a connection with it. We are identifying the age of rock art, not only in Europe but also in Southeast Asia. This changes the picture of human evolution, " said Maxime Aubert, lead author of the study. ancient cum geochemistry at Griffith University, said.

According to Aubert et al., The drawing on the wall of Leang Bulu 'Sipong 4 cave not only represents art and symbolism but also shows belief in supernatural power. Hunters with animal heads are not in disguise. They are hybrid animals, or sublime creatures. Scientists have found similar examples, such as the 35,000-year-old lion-head statue in Germany.

"A picture of a half-human, half-animal hunter may also be the oldest evidence of the ability to perceive things that don't exist in the natural world, " the team said. The team has not been able to ascertain who painted the picture, but it is most likely a modern human (scientific name Homo sapiens). "We think the artists are Homo sapiens. This religious and spiritual conception is part of the culture of ancient people in Indonesia," said Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University.

The drawing in the Leang Bulu 'Sipong 4 cave is the first painting on the island of Sulawesi to recount an action involving the supernatural . Earlier, scientists discovered dozens of abstract paintings in caves on the island. However, many of them are damaged. "We have to quickly find the cause of the damage and decide how to act," Brumm said.

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