44,000-Year-Old Indonesian Cave Art Challenges European Origins of Figurative Painting

A 44,000-year-old rock art panel discovered on Sulawesi island in Indonesia depicts human figures hunting buffalo and wild pigs using reddish-brown pigment. Archaeologist Adam Brumm from Griffith University in Brisbane noted the scene appears to involve hunting with possible mythological or supernatural connotations, though its exact meaning remains unknown. Scientific analysis determined the artwork's age by measuring radioactive uranium decay into thorium within the pigment minerals, establishing it was painted at least 43,900 years ago. Archaeological scientist Alistair Pike at the University of Southampton emphasized this discovery disproves the long-held assumption that figurative painting traditions originated exclusively in Europe. The findings were published in Nature journal on December 12, 2019.