A prehistoric painting in Indonesia has been dated to at least 51,200 years ago, making it the earliest known example of “figurative” cave art in the world. This discovery may also represent the oldest known surviving example of a narrative scene, as proposed by a team of researchers in a recent study.

Figurative artworks are those that clearly depict real objects such as animals, humans, or other identifiable subjects. According to a study published in the journal Nature¹, this newly described painting is not only the earliest documented figurative art but also possibly the oldest known example of “visual storytelling”—a narrative scene in the world.

Leang Karampuang: The Oldest Narrative Art          

The painting is located in the limestone cave of Leang Karampuang in the Maros-Pangkep region of Sulawesi, an Indonesian island. Maxime Aubert, an author of the study from Griffith University in Australia, explains that narrative cave art conveys more than just static images; it tells us how to view these images in association. Aubert said,

“We, as humans, define ourselves as a species that tells stories, and these are the oldest evidence of us doing that.”

Debate Over Interpretation

While the dating work in the study is solid, some experts debate the narrative interpretation of the art. Wil Roebroeks, a professor of Paleolithic Archaeology from Leiden University in the Netherlands, acknowledges the robust dating but notes that interpreting the art as a narrative is open to debate.

Uranium-Series Dating and the New LA-U-Series Technique

Previous research has indicated that Sulawesi is home to some of the oldest known rock art in the world, based on uranium-series dating (U-series). Researchers used this technique to analyze deposits of calcite overlying the art in the Maros-Pangkep region.

In the latest study, Aubert and colleagues employed a novel application of this approach called laser-ablation U-series imaging (LA-U-series) to re-date some of the earliest cave art and determine the age of stylistically similar works at other sites in the region. Aubert said,

“Our new LA-U-series technique is more accurate, allowing us to date the earliest calcium carbonate layers formed on the art and get closer to the point in time the art was created. It will revolutionize rock art dating.”

The Importance of Accurate Dating

Dating prehistoric rock art accurately is challenging, but the LA-U series approach is a significant improvement over traditional methods. It requires much smaller samples, reducing the impact on precious rock art. Using this novel approach, researchers dated the painting at Leang Karampuang, which depicts a wild pig and what appears to be three human-like figures interacting with it. The method yielded a minimum age of 51,200 years ago, pushing back previous dates for paintings on the island by at least 5,700 years.

Figurative Rock Art and Visual Storytelling

The previous earliest example of figurative rock art was a painting of a pig at the Leang Tedongnge site in Maros-Pangkep, dated to around 45,500 years ago. In the latest study, the authors also analyzed a painting at the Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 site, previously dated to at least 43,900 years ago. This painting, interpreted as a hunting scene, is considered one of the oldest examples of figurative rock art and narrative scenes.

Using the new technique, the team found that this painting likely dates to around 48,000 years ago. These findings suggest that figurative portrayals of anthropomorphic figures and animals have an earlier origin in human history than previously thought. Aubert said,

“The earliest Sulawesi rock art is not ‘simple’—it is quite advanced and shows the mental capacity of people at the time. It also suggests that this capacity must have a much older origin, probably in Africa, and that older rock art is probably waiting for discovery and dating.”

The Broader Implications

While the authors believe these paintings were made by modern humans, they do not completely exclude the possibility that other human species could have created them. Previous research has dated cave paintings in Spain to a minimum age of around 64,000 years old, potentially the world’s oldest known examples. These works, attributed to Neanderthals, consist of dots, lines, and hand stencils rather than figurative art.

Roebroeks emphasizes that while the dating of the Sulawesi art is solid, interpreting these paintings as narrative scenes should be approached with caution. He said,

“The dating side of the paper looks solid to me, as an archaeologist. I am less convinced by the authors’ ‘narrative’ interpretation of these two panels. They conclude that the art was meant to illustrate a story, implicitly assuming the panel was a composition executed in one go to illustrate the narrative, rather than the figures being the result of various independent painting events.”

Despite differing interpretations, the work of Aubert and his colleagues has substantially increased our knowledge of Pleistocene art in a region previously little understood in this domain. Their research marks an important contribution to our understanding of early human artistic expression and the origins of visual storytelling.

1. Oktaviana, A. A., Joannes-Boyau, R., Hakim, B., Burhan, B., Sardi, R., Adhityatama, S., Hamrullah, Sumantri, I., Tang, M., Lebe, R., Ilyas, I., Abbas, A., Jusdi, A., Mahardian, D. E., Noerwidi, S., Ririmasse, M. N. R., Mahmud, I., Duli, A., Aksa, L. M., … Aubert, M. (2024). Narrative cave art in Indonesia by 51,200 years ago.Nature, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07541-7

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