Indonesian and Australian Researchers Date Sulawesi Cave Handprints to At Least 67,800 Years, Identify World’s Oldest Rock Art

Researchers from Indonesia and Australia have reported a faded ochre hand stencil on the limestone cave walls of Muna, a satellite island off Sulawesi, that is dated to a minimum of about 67,800 years ago and is the oldest reliably dated rock art yet identified.

“ABC Science Topic:Archaeology The two hand stencils were hidden under rock art depicting a chicken on a cave wall in Sulawesi”

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Teams used uranium–thorium dating of thin calcite and mineral crusts and of microscopic calcium‑carbonate deposits that formed on top of the paintings to establish a minimum age.

Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The study appears in the journal Nature.

The imagery consists of tan hand stencils with intentionally narrowed or pointed fingertips produced by blowing pigment around hands, and it was found among a wider local tradition of paintings spanning thousands of years, indicating repeated use of the same sites.

The age estimate is a conservative minimum derived from uranium-series/uranium-thorium dating of mineral crusts—calcite deposits or "cave popcorn"—that formed on top of the pigment.

Because the dated crust post-dates the painting, the measured ages provide a secure minimum age for the underlying art, and outlets note the technique carries uncertainties so archaeologists report minimum ages rather than exact creation dates.

BBC

Different reports stress technical details with varying emphasis: some emphasize the method's reliability for establishing a minimum age, while others highlight dating uncertainties and advise caution in interpretation.

The new minimum age places the Muna hand stencil ahead of previously dated examples elsewhere.

“The hand stencil is more than 1,000 years older than the previous earliest evidence of rock art”

Live Science

Several outlets note it is about 1,100 years older than the prior record-holding Spanish hand stencil, which some reports attribute to Neanderthals.

Other reporting situates the find relative to older regional dates, for example earlier Indonesian and Bornean images with minimum ages exceeding 40,000 to 51,000 years.

This underlines that Wallacea and nearby islands now host a growing set of very ancient rock-art dates.

Many outlets draw broader archaeological and anthropological implications.

Several reports link the Sulawesi dates to early human occupation and migration across Wallacea toward Sahul (Australia-New Guinea).

National Geographic

They also suggest cultural continuity or long-lived artistic traditions in prehistoric Indonesia and propose a connection with the ancestors of Indigenous Australians.

Some coverage references genetic evidence and excavation results from northern Australia that support human presence there by roughly 60,000-68,000 years ago.

These findings strengthen the possibility that the same expanding populations carried symbolic practices across island Southeast Asia.

Researchers and reporters highlight open questions and ongoing work.

“Adithi Ramakrishnan, Associated PressAdithi Ramakrishnan, Associated Press Leave your feedback NEW YORK (AP) — Handprints on cave walls in a largely unexplored area of Indonesia may be the oldest rock art studied so far, dating back to at least 67,800 years ago”

PBS

A hand stencil was found among many later images, some dated to roughly 4,000–32,800 years, indicating the cave’s use across millennia.

PBS

Specialists caution that dating estimates are conservative and call for additional fieldwork across Wallacea to corroborate and expand the record.

Several studies note distinctive technical features such as pointed fingers and fragmentary stencils and raise the possibility of recovering DNA from pigment application methods.

Commentators emphasize dating difficulties and the need for more samples before drawing firm species-level or cultural conclusions.