Adam Brumm of Griffith University discusses the 67,800-year-old rock art.
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A new record for reliably dated rock art
About 67,800 years ago, someone coated their hand in a pigment and pressed it against a cave wall. Amazingly, this has survived the erosive effects of time, and remains faintly visible in a cave in Muna, an island off Sulawesi, Indonesia.
On January 22, 2026, scientists announced that this remarkable hand stencil is the oldest known rock art in the world. Moreover, it provides new clues about the migration of modern humans (Homo sapiens) through southern Southeast Asia on their way to Australia.
In addition, the scientists reported that ancient humans had been repeatedly creating art on the walls of this cave until 20,000 years ago. Maxime Aubert of Griffith University is a co-author of the paper on this study. He said in a statement:
It is now evident from our new phase of research that Sulawesi was home to one of the world’s richest and most longstanding artistic cultures, one with origins in the earliest history of human occupation of the island at least 67,800 years ago.
The researchers published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on January 21, 2026.
An unusual feature of the hand stencil
The research team dated the ancient hand stencil by analyzing minute calcium carbonate deposits that accumulated on top of the rock art, using a technique called uranium-series dating.
The ancient hand stencil pigment, significantly faded by time, showed parts of the fingers and adjoining palm area. Notably, at least one finger appeared to have been deliberately narrowed by the artist. As a result, it appeared like a claw-like hand.
What was the symbolic significance of that alteration? Adam Brumm of Griffith University speculated:
This art could symbolize the idea that humans and animals were closely connected, something we already seem to see in the very early painted art of Sulawesi, with at least one instance of a scene portraying figures that we interpret as representations of part-human, part-animal beings.
What this rock art says about early human migration
Several Indonesian islands have some of the oldest rock art in the world. In fact, people have found figures and hand stencils in caves at Sulawesi and Kalimantan, ranging from 17,000 to 51,000 years old.
Now, the 67,800-year-old hand stencil sets a new record. The researchers think that this artwork in the Muna cave was created by people closely associated with the ancestors of indigenous Australians.
Archaic hominins – other types of human species – may have also been present in Sulawesi. However, the team thinks that modern humans made this oldest rock art. They wrote in their paper:
We attribute the earliest cave art of Muna to H. sapiens based on the added technical and stylistic complexity of the intentionally modified fingers on the hand stencil and the close fit with the known arrival time of our species in the region.
Adhi Agus Oktaviana, of the National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia, is the paper’s lead author. He commented:
It is very likely that the people who made these paintings in Sulawesi were part of the broader population that would later spread through the region and ultimately reach Australia.
The debate over when humans arrived in Australia
The first modern humans to venture towards Australia used a combination of land migration, when sea levels were low, and sea voyages, to make their journey. During the latter part of the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), there was a landmass called Sahul that joined Australia and New Guinea. Fluctuating sea levels, during glacial cycles, submerged and exposed parts of this landmass.
However, researchers had been divided over when modern humans made their way to Sahul. Was it 50,000 years ago or 65,000 years ago?
Oktaviana said:
This discovery strongly supports the idea that the ancestors of the First Australians were in Sahul by 65,000 years ago.
Clues to how early modern humans reached Australia
Scientists think there were two possible routes that led to Sahul. In one scenario, humans took a northern path to the New Guinea section of Sahul. This involved island-hopping through Sulawesi and the Maluku islands. However, there’s also a southerly option where sea voyagers went directly to the Australian mainland through Timor and nearby islands.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau of the Southern Cross University, and a paper co-author, says that the rock art suggests a northern route:
With the dating of this extremely ancient rock art in Sulawesi, we now have the oldest direct evidence for the presence of modern humans along this northern migration corridor into Sahul.
The researchers are continuing to search for signs of early modern human habitation in the islands along the northern route. Aubert remarked:
These discoveries underscore the archaeological importance of the many other Indonesian islands between Sulawesi and westernmost New Guinea.
Bottom line: Scientists discovered the oldest known rock art in a cave on an island off Sulawesi, Indonesia. The 67,800-year-old art provides new clues to human migration to Australia.
Source: Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi
Read more: Last known appearance of Homo erectus was in Ngandong, Java
The post Oldest known rock art in the world found in Indonesian cave first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/7RScjy9
Adam Brumm of Griffith University discusses the 67,800-year-old rock art.
EarthSky’s 2026 lunar calendar is available now. Get yours today! Makes a great gift.
A new record for reliably dated rock art
About 67,800 years ago, someone coated their hand in a pigment and pressed it against a cave wall. Amazingly, this has survived the erosive effects of time, and remains faintly visible in a cave in Muna, an island off Sulawesi, Indonesia.
On January 22, 2026, scientists announced that this remarkable hand stencil is the oldest known rock art in the world. Moreover, it provides new clues about the migration of modern humans (Homo sapiens) through southern Southeast Asia on their way to Australia.
In addition, the scientists reported that ancient humans had been repeatedly creating art on the walls of this cave until 20,000 years ago. Maxime Aubert of Griffith University is a co-author of the paper on this study. He said in a statement:
It is now evident from our new phase of research that Sulawesi was home to one of the world’s richest and most longstanding artistic cultures, one with origins in the earliest history of human occupation of the island at least 67,800 years ago.
The researchers published their findings in the peer-reviewed journal Nature on January 21, 2026.
An unusual feature of the hand stencil
The research team dated the ancient hand stencil by analyzing minute calcium carbonate deposits that accumulated on top of the rock art, using a technique called uranium-series dating.
The ancient hand stencil pigment, significantly faded by time, showed parts of the fingers and adjoining palm area. Notably, at least one finger appeared to have been deliberately narrowed by the artist. As a result, it appeared like a claw-like hand.
What was the symbolic significance of that alteration? Adam Brumm of Griffith University speculated:
This art could symbolize the idea that humans and animals were closely connected, something we already seem to see in the very early painted art of Sulawesi, with at least one instance of a scene portraying figures that we interpret as representations of part-human, part-animal beings.
What this rock art says about early human migration
Several Indonesian islands have some of the oldest rock art in the world. In fact, people have found figures and hand stencils in caves at Sulawesi and Kalimantan, ranging from 17,000 to 51,000 years old.
Now, the 67,800-year-old hand stencil sets a new record. The researchers think that this artwork in the Muna cave was created by people closely associated with the ancestors of indigenous Australians.
Archaic hominins – other types of human species – may have also been present in Sulawesi. However, the team thinks that modern humans made this oldest rock art. They wrote in their paper:
We attribute the earliest cave art of Muna to H. sapiens based on the added technical and stylistic complexity of the intentionally modified fingers on the hand stencil and the close fit with the known arrival time of our species in the region.
Adhi Agus Oktaviana, of the National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia, is the paper’s lead author. He commented:
It is very likely that the people who made these paintings in Sulawesi were part of the broader population that would later spread through the region and ultimately reach Australia.
The debate over when humans arrived in Australia
The first modern humans to venture towards Australia used a combination of land migration, when sea levels were low, and sea voyages, to make their journey. During the latter part of the Pleistocene (2.6 million to 11,700 years ago), there was a landmass called Sahul that joined Australia and New Guinea. Fluctuating sea levels, during glacial cycles, submerged and exposed parts of this landmass.
However, researchers had been divided over when modern humans made their way to Sahul. Was it 50,000 years ago or 65,000 years ago?
Oktaviana said:
This discovery strongly supports the idea that the ancestors of the First Australians were in Sahul by 65,000 years ago.
Clues to how early modern humans reached Australia
Scientists think there were two possible routes that led to Sahul. In one scenario, humans took a northern path to the New Guinea section of Sahul. This involved island-hopping through Sulawesi and the Maluku islands. However, there’s also a southerly option where sea voyagers went directly to the Australian mainland through Timor and nearby islands.
Renaud Joannes-Boyau of the Southern Cross University, and a paper co-author, says that the rock art suggests a northern route:
With the dating of this extremely ancient rock art in Sulawesi, we now have the oldest direct evidence for the presence of modern humans along this northern migration corridor into Sahul.
The researchers are continuing to search for signs of early modern human habitation in the islands along the northern route. Aubert remarked:
These discoveries underscore the archaeological importance of the many other Indonesian islands between Sulawesi and westernmost New Guinea.
Bottom line: Scientists discovered the oldest known rock art in a cave on an island off Sulawesi, Indonesia. The 67,800-year-old art provides new clues to human migration to Australia.
Source: Rock art from at least 67,800 years ago in Sulawesi
Read more: Last known appearance of Homo erectus was in Ngandong, Java
The post Oldest known rock art in the world found in Indonesian cave first appeared on EarthSky.
from EarthSky https://ift.tt/7RScjy9
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