Oldest cave art discovered in Indonesia: 51,200 years old

[pinball1970]

https://www.theguardian.com/science...ry-cave-painting-indonesia-record-51000-years

From the Guardian article

"The painting, believed to be at least 51,200 years old, was found at Leang Karampuang cave on the east Indonesian island of Sulawesi,

Samples were collected in 2017, but weren’t dated until earlier this year.

The previous record holder was a lifesize picture of a wild pig believed to be created at least 45,500 years ago in a cave at Leang Tedongnge.
The recently discovered painting is of three therianthropes – or human-animal hybrids – and a wild pig."

There is a paper in Nature.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-07541-7

There is an older claim to ancient cave art at the "Rising Star," caves/ Homo naledi site, but these have come under criticism from the scientific community.

 

[fresh_42]

What amazes me isn't the date, and there have been similar old findings in Australia, Gibraltar, and according to Wikipedia even older ones in South Africa. What I find astonishing is the obvious human impetus to express themselves for whatever reason right from the beginning as it seems.