This flute was discovered during excavations at the Hohle Fels cave in southwestern Germany, where several other flutes dating back to about 41,000-35,000 BCE have also been unearthed. They are the oldest undisputed musical instruments ever discovered.

As this article describes:

With five finger holes and a V-shaped mouthpiece, the almost complete bird-bone flute—made from the naturally hollow wing bone of a griffon vulture—is just 0.3 inch (8 millimeters) wide and was originally about 13 inches (34 centimeters) long.

The sophistication of the flute's design suggests that it was part of a much older musical tradition:

... although these are currently the earliest flutes known, it is reasonable to expect that even earlier examples were produced within and outside the region: the instruments from Hohle Fels are too "evolved" in terms of design and manufacture to represent the first flutes.

The makers and players of the Aurignacian flutes were thus not novices, but had considerable musical knowledge and experience that may have resulted from some form of trans-generational communication.

Moreover, the earliest musical instruments, such as drums and rattles, were probably made of perishable materials — perhaps wood and hide — that are not routinely preserved in the archaeological record.

Even so, these flutes from southwestern Germany are of immense importance, as they document a mature musical tradition that was firmly in place thousands of years earlier than previously thought.

In fact, the development of music may be as old as humanity itself:

During their migration from Africa into Europe as early as 40,000 years ago, our ancestors were already making music. The artifacts discovered in the Hohle Fels Cave, dating back some 40,000 years, reveal that this capacity existed in our common ancestors even then, and quite likely long before.

In this rare glimpse into the unfolding of culture itself, we can see that the evolutionary roots of music go deep into our human story. So deep, that many scientists now believe that music played a crucial role in the development of the human mind.

Sources & More Info:

National Geographic: Bone Flute is World's Oldest Musical Instrument, Study Says

PubMed: The Earliest Known Musical Tradition

The New York Times: Oldest Musical Instruments are Even Older than First Thought

Kassa Flutes: Toneholes and Tradition: How a 40,000 Year Old Flute Leveled the Playing Field

Nature: New Flutes Document the Earliest Musical Tradition in Southwestern Germany

This painting was discovered at Leang Tedongnge, which is a limestone cave located on the island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. It was created at least 45,500 years ago, and it depicts a Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis) which is a species that still inhabits the forests of Sulawesi today.

Above: a close-up of the pig's face, showing a pair of "spiky" head crests and preorbital facial warts, which are characteristic features of Sus celebensis

The figure measures 136cm long (about 4.5 feet) from tail-to-snout, and it was painted using dark red mineral pigments; a pair of hand stencils also decorate the wall just above the pig's haunches, and the partial figures of at least two other pigs are visible on the wall several meters away.

Above: two additional paintings are located toward the right side of the wall, but only fragments of the pigs' faces and shoulders remain

The caves of Sulawesi contain the world's oldest known examples of figurative art (i.e. artwork that depicts real or recognizable subjects, like animals and human beings). The oldest figurative painting in the world was discovered in a cave known as Leang Karampuang. It dates back to roughly 51,200 years ago, and it depicts a warty pig with three human-like figures. Unfortunately, that painting is much more faded and badly damaged.

Above: this 51,200-year-old painting from Leang Karampuang is currently recognized as the world's oldest known example of figurative art

Warty pigs appear in over 87% of the prehistoric animal paintings that have been documented in Sulawesi. Many of the other paintings depict a small, buffalo-like creature known as an anoa (genus Bubalus) which is a wild bovid that is also endemic to Indonesia. Both animals can still be found on the island of Sulawesi.

Above: anoas depicted in cave paintings from Leang Timpuseng and Leang Bulu' Sipong

The second-oldest figurative painting in the world comes from a cave known as Leang Bulu Sipong, and it dates back to at least 48,000 years ago.

Archaeologists have been aware of Sulawesi's abundant cave art since the 1950's, but dating techniques were not used on the paintings until 2014. For decades, researchers had assumed that the artwork was less than 10,000 years old, but when animal paintings and hand stencils from seven different caves were finally analyzed in 2014, scientists were shocked to discover that some of the artwork was actually created more than 39,000 years ago.

Since then, archaeologists have discovered and analyzed many other cave paintings from Sulawesi (and some from the neighboring island of Borneo) that date back to between 35,000 and 51,200 years ago.

Above: the cave painting from Leang Tedongnge

When the painting at Leang Tedongnge was discovered in 2017, it briefly qualified as the world's oldest example of figurative artwork and the oldest known depiction of an animal, but it has since been surpassed by two other cave paintings from other sites in Sulawesi. It is now recognized as the third-oldest figurative painting in the world.

All of these discoveries firmly contradict the traditional (and deeply eurocentric) beliefs that were once held regarding the origins of artistic expression, as this article explains:

Previously, the oldest known cave art was thought to have first appeared in Europe 40,000 years ago, showcasing abstract symbols. By 35,000 years ago, the art became more sophisticated, showing horses and other animals.

These latest finds from Indonesia have challenged a long-standing belief that artistic expression – and the cognitive leap that may have accompanied it – began in Europe.

It’s now thought that the capability to create figurative art either emerged before Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa and headed for Europe and Asia more than 60,000 years ago, or that it emerged more than once as humans spread around the globe.

According to this article:

The geographic location of the painting is significant. Although experts have long recognized that humans originated in Africa, “Europe was once thought of as a ‘finishing school’ for humanity,” says archaeologist April Nowell, because all the oldest known examples of art and other sophisticated behaviors were found there. But in reality, the pattern of discoveries just reflected the disproportionate amount of archaeological research that was being carried out in Europe, especially in France.

“These new discoveries add to an already rich record of early and varied rock art from [Indonesia and Australia] and underscores the importance of conducting research outside Europe,” Nowell says.

Unfortunately, many of the cave paintings in Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia are now rapidly crumbling away as a result of climate change. The limestone surfaces of the cave walls are peeling away at an alarming rate, erasing large sections of the paintings in the process. At some sites, patches of artwork measuring 2-3cm wide are now vanishing every few months.

Sources & More Info:

Science Advances: Oldest Cave Art Found in Sulawesi

CNN: A Warty Pig Painted on a Cave Wall 45,500 Years Ago is the World's Oldest Depiction of an Animal

Smithsonian Magazine: A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World

Nature: Narrative Cave Art in Indonesia by 51,200 Years Ago

Nature: Pleistocene Cave Art from Sulawesi

Art Net: 45,000-Year-Old Cave Painting of a Pig May be the Oldest Artwork in the World

This artwork was discovered in a limestone cave known as Leang Bulu' Sipong 4, which is located on the island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia. The panel depicted above is just one part of a much larger painting that measures nearly 4.5 meters (about 15 feet) long, and it covers the wall of a hidden chamber that was discovered back in 2017.

Above: a section of the painting from Leang Bulu' Sipong

The full-length painting depicts six animals, including two wild pigs and four anoas (small, buffalo-like creatures that are endemic to Indonesia) being hunted by tiny therianthropes, which are figures that appear to be part-human and part-animal. The figures are vaguely human-like, but they are depicted with animalistic features including tails, beaks, snouts, lizard-like torsos, and horns.

Above: a digital tracing of the full-sized painting, with the anoa and therianthropic figures magnified

Some of these animalistic traits may represent masks, headdresses, or costumes, but several of the figures also exhibit more extreme features that do not resemble simple costumes. Researchers also argue that such costumes would be useless and impractical as hunting props, given that the features mostly seem to mimic small animals like birds and lizards.

Above: two therianthropic figures that seem to be using spears or ropes to subdue the much larger anoa

A 2019 analysis of this painting originally indicated that it was created over 43,900 years ago, but further testing in 2024 revealed that it was created even earlier, dating back to at least 48,000 years ago -- which would make this the world's second-oldest example of figurative art (i.e. artwork that depicts real or recognizable subjects, such as humans or animals).

It's unclear whether or not the animal-like figures actually represent therianthropes, but if they are therianthropic, as archaeologists speculate, then this painting would also qualify as the world's oldest known depiction of mythical beings, and it would constitute the earliest known evidence of spiritual or supernatural thinking. It is more than 8,000 years older than the famous Löwenmensch ("lion-man") carving from Germany, which has long been recognized as the world's oldest depiction of a therianthrope.

According to this article:

For whoever painted these figures, they represented much more than ordinary human hunters. One appears to have a large beak while another has an appendage resembling a tail. In the language of archaeology, these are therianthropes, or characters that embody a mix of human and animal characteristics.

"The images of therianthropes may also represent the earliest evidence for our capacity to conceive of things that do not exist in the natural world, a basic concept that underpins modern religion,” said Adam Brumm, study co-author and associate professor at the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution. “Therianthropes occur in the folklore or narrative fiction of almost every modern society, and they are perceived as gods, spirits or ancestral beings in many religions worldwide.”

These interpretations are speculative, however, and the inspiration for the painting, as well as its significance to the humans who created it, is likely to remain a mystery.

Archaeologists have been aware of Sulawesi's abundant cave art since the 1950's, but dating techniques were not used on the paintings until 2014. For decades, it was assumed that the artwork was less than 10,000 years old, but when animal paintings and hand stencils from seven different caves were finally analyzed, researchers were shocked to discover that some of the artwork was created more than 39,900 years ago -- predating most of the world's earliest known cave paintings. Since then, archaeologists have discovered and analyzed many other cave paintings from Sulawesi that date back to between 40,000 and 51,200 years ago (the 51,200-year-old cave painting was discussed in one of my previous posts).

These discoveries firmly contradict the traditional (and deeply eurocentric) beliefs that were previously held regarding the origins of artistic expression, as this article explains:

Previously, the oldest known cave art was thought to have first appeared in Europe 40,000 years ago, showcasing abstract symbols. By 35,000 years ago, the art became more sophisticated, showing horses and other animals.

These latest finds in Indonesia have challenged a long-standing belief that artistic expression – and the cognitive leap that may have accompanied it – began in Europe.

It’s now thought that the capability to create figurative art either emerged before Homo sapiens migrated out of Africa and headed for Europe and Asia more than 60,000 years ago, or that it emerged more than once as humans spread around the globe.  

Unfortunately, many of the cave paintings in Sulawesi and other parts of Indonesia are now rapidly crumbling away as a result of climate change. The limestone surfaces of the cave walls are peeling away at an alarming rate, erasing large sections of the paintings in the process. At some sites, patches of artwork measuring 2-3cm wide are now vanishing every few months.

Sources & More Info:

The Guardian: Earliest Known Cave Art by Modern Humans Found in Indonesia

Scientific American: Is This Indonesian Cave Painting the Earliest Portrayal of a Mythical Story?

National Geographic: Ancient Cave Art May Depict the World's Oldest Hunting Scene

The Leakey Foundation: Indonesian Cave Paintings Show the Dawn of Imaginative Art

Nature: Earliest Hunting Scene in Prehistoric Art

Nature: Narrative Cave Art in Indonesia by 51,200 Years Ago

The New York Times: Mythical Beings May be Earliest Imaginative Cave Art by Humans

Science: World's Oldest Hunting Scene Shows Half-Human, Half-Animal Figures

Smithsonian Magazine: A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World

Art Net: Some of the Oldest and Most Revered Cave Paintings in the World Are Under Extreme Threat Due to Climate Change

This saddle was discovered at a site known as Yanghai, which is located along the eastern edge of the Turpan Basin in what is now China. Radiocarbon dating indicates that it was created between 727-396 BCE, making it the oldest horseback riding saddle ever discovered.

As this article explains:

Preserved by the region’s arid climate, the Yanghai saddle offers rich insights into early horse-riding technology and the society that created it. Its two wing-shaped hides, filled with a mixture of straw, deer hair, and camel hair, were sewn together along the outer edges and separated by a section without stuffing (known as the gullet), which eased the pressure on the horse’s spine.

The Yanghai saddle also shakes assumptions that horse-riding saddles were used solely by men for military purposes. “The discovery of this saddle inside the tomb of a woman suggests that women participated in the everyday activities of mounted pastoralists, which included herding and traveling,” says Patrick Wertmann of the University of Zurich.

Above: close-ups of the leather stitching and wear patterns along the edges of the saddle

Researchers argue that the saddle was likely crafted by a skilled specialist, and that it served a functional purpose:

Unlike the younger finds from elite Scythian burials, this early saddle was made from inexpensive materials and used by a common woman. Yet it is testimony to the same mastery of craftsmanship. Both the functional design considering the anatomy and well-being of horse and rider, and the fine execution of the crafting techniques, i.e. leather- and needlework, demonstrate that the Yanghai saddle was manufactured by a specialist familiar with leatherwork, horse husbandry, and riding.

The lack of elaborate decorative applications together with traces of wear and repair spots, some of which were executed in a simpler and cruder way, imply that the saddle was an every-day item maintained by the user.

The saddle is attributed to the Subeixi Culture, which flourished in northwestern China from roughly 1100 BCE to 100 CE.

Sources & More Info:

Archaeological Research in Asia: The Earliest Directly Dated Saddle for Horse-Riding from a Mid-1st Millennium BCE Female Burial in Northwest China

National Geographic: Is this the World's Oldest Saddle?

This site was mentioned in one of my previous posts, but I wanted to provide a little more information.

The prehistoric gold mine at Sakdrisi dates back to about 3400-3000 BCE, which makes this the oldest gold mine ever discovered. It's located in modern-day Georgia, nestled between Russia, Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.

As this article explains:

Sakdrisi is a complex of four mines categorised into four areas and covering about 60 hectares. The complex comprised mining shafts between 3 and 5 meters wide, transitional corridors, and pits. One of the prehistoric workings reached a depth of 27 meters (88.5 feet).

Secure radiocarbon samples clearly indicate that Kura-Araxes miners exploited the gold from the mid-fourth to mid-third millennium BC, making Sakdrisi the oldest known gold mine in the world. Later miners re-worked the old deposits in the fourth and fifth centuries, but were not as intrepid as their prehistoric forebears.

The same article goes on to describe how the gold was extracted:

Mining at Sakdrisi involved a lot of hard work. In the first instance, the miners used fire to crack the extremely hard matrix in which the gold is embedded. Experiments demonstrated that the miners would have left the galleries after lighting a fire — small pieces of wood were probably laid against the wall - to avoid the noxious fumes and, when the air cleared, they pounded the walls of the mine with heavy, hafted hammer stones, leaving tell-tale hollows. Tools varied according to the task, from heavy mallets to finer implements, such as antler picks, used to extract deposits in narrow cracks. The next stage involved hand sorting and crushing the ore, which was finally milled to a powder.

Estimates have suggested that the industrious miners exploited somewhere between 500 and 1000 kg of gold at Sakdrisi in the course of its lifetime.

Sadly, most of the prehistoric mine at Sakdrisi was destroyed back in 2014, when the Georgian government decided to revoke the site's protected status and then allowed a Russian gold mining company (RMG Gold) to begin mining the site.

Sources & More Info:

The Archaeology of the Caucasus from the Earliest Settlements to the Iron Age: Mining for Metal and Ore

Archaeo Sciences: Bronze Age Gold in Southern Georgia

Europa Nostra: Appeal to Stop the Destruction of an Important Archaeological Site in Georgia

National Geographic: Treasure of the Caucasus

Saunje: The Gold Mine of Sakdrisi and the Earliest Mining and Metallurgy in Transcaucasia