Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art

Archaeologists have discovered a cave painting in Indonesia that is at least 43,900 years old and which portrays the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world


INDONESIA

SULAWESI ISLAND

Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4
SOUTH SULAWESI
Makassar
40km 25 miles


Panel of cave art found in Sulawesi depicts group of human-like figures hunting large mammals with spears or ropes

Until now, oldest known “scenes” of humans and animals interacting date from Upper Palaeolithic cave art of Europe (21,000-14,000 years ago)


0 Human-like figures
1 2 3 4 5 6

Detail of hunting scene


Depictions of therianthropes (part-human, part-animal figures) suggest Indonesian cave art involved religious-like thinking – ability to conceive of supernatural entities – long before humans first made art in Europe

Lion Man: Figurine of lion-headed human found in Germany and dated at 40,000 years old was, until now, oldest depiction of therianthrope


Sources: Nature Magazine, Griffith University
Pictures: A. Brumm; A.A. Oktaviana; R. Sardi; Newscom 
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