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Prehistoric artwork shows interaction between figures and reveals that primitive humans were already telling complex stories more than 50 years ago
Using a new dating technique called (U-LA series), archaeologists have been able to re-establish the age of some of the oldest rock art in the Maros-Pangkep region of South Sulawesi, Indonesia.
This discovery revealed that the compositions are even older than previously believed, changing the current understanding of the origins of human narrative art.
a revolutionary discovery
At the Leang Bulu' Sipong 4 archaeological site, a famous hunting scene had previously been dated to at least 43.900 years old.
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Using the new laser ablation technique, scientists have discovered that the painting is actually even older, with a minimum age of 50.200 years, with a margin of error of approximately 2.200 years. This means that the work is at least 4.040 years older than previously thought.
Furthermore, at another archaeological site in the same region, Leang Karampuang, a new composition was studied.
This art, which depicts human figures interacting with a pig, has been dated to a minimum age of 53.500 years, also considering the margin of error of 2.300 years.
It is estimated to have been painted at least 51.200 years ago, making it the oldest known example of representational art and visual narrative in the world.
Importance of the new technique
Dating prehistoric rock art has always been a major challenge for archaeologists. Traditional methods, such as U-series solution analysis, have already made significant progress in recent decades and have been applied in regions such as Western Europe, island Southeast Asia and Siberia.
In Spain, for example, a hand stencil has been dated to at least 64.800 years ago and is attributed to Neanderthals.
However, when it came to figurative art, the oldest evidence to date was a naturalistic painting of a warty pig in Sulawesi, dated at least 45.500 years ago.
According to Professor Maxime Aubert of Griffith University, senior author of the new study, the U-LA series technique represents a major leap forward in the accuracy of these dates. “This allows us to date the earliest layers of calcium carbonate formed in the art and get closer to the time when the art was created. This will revolutionize the dating of rock art.”, He stated.
Detailed layer maps
Professor Renaud Joannes-Boyau from Southern Cross University, a co-author of the study, highlighted another benefit of the new technique. “This ability allows us to identify and avoid regions affected by natural diagenesis processes, which arise from complex growth histories.”, He explained.
In this way, age determinations become more robust and reliable, providing more security to archaeological interpretations.
The impact of the new dates
The discovery of the Leang Karampuang painting, which is at least 51.200 years old, has brought new implications for understanding the origins of ancient art. The study’s first author, Adhi Agus Oktaviana of the National Agency for Research and Innovation in Jakarta, said the new dates were surprising.
According to him, none of the famous European Ice Age art is as old as this, apart from some controversial discoveries in Spain. It is also the first time that Indonesian rock art dates back more than 50.000 years.
Even older hunting scene
The researchers also re-dated the famous hunting scene from Leang Bulu' Sipong 4, which depicts beings interpreted as therianthropes (part-human, part-animal beings) hunting warty pigs and dwarf buffaloes. The work, previously dated to at least 43.900 years old, has now been given a minimum age of around 48.000 years using the new technique.
According to Professor Adam Brumm of Griffith University and co-author of the study, the significance of this discovery lies in the fact that these early art forms are narrative. That is, they show humans and animals interacting in a way that suggests a story is being told, unlike the previous academic view that early figurative rock art consisted solely of isolated figures.
Narrative as part of culture
Professor Brumm stressed that the presence of recognizable scenes in such ancient paintings sheds new light on the role of narrative in art history.This was a groundbreaking discovery because the scholarly view of early figurative rock art has long been that it consisted of panels of single figures.”He explained.
According to him, these new discoveries indicate that the ability to tell stories was already a crucial part of early human artistic culture in Sulawesi, more than 51.000 years ago.
Adhi Agus Oktaviana also commented that although humans have probably been telling stories for much longer, as words do not fossilize, the only direct evidence available is pictorial representations.
In this sense, Sulawesi art represents, to date, the oldest known evidence of visual narrative in archaeology.
The findings, which represent an important advance in the study of human prehistory and the evolution of art, were published in the scientific journal Nature.
