48,000-Year-Old Cave Painting from Indonesia: this painting shows several animals being hunted by tiny figures that are part-human and part-animal (known as therianthropes); researchers believe that this may be the earliest known depiction of mythical beings
This painting was found at Leang Bulu' Sipong 4, which is a limestone cave located on the island of Sulawesi, in Indonesia.
The panel shown here is just one part of a much larger painting that measures nearly 4.5 meters (about 15 feet) long, and it decorates the wall of a hidden chamber that was discovered back in 2017. The full-length painting portrays six animals, including two wild pigs and four anoas (which are small, buffalo-like creatures that are endemic to Indonesia). All of the animals are shown being captured, hunted, and/or pursued by tiny figures that appear to be part-human and part-animal; their vaguely human-like bodies are depicted with animalistic features such as tails, beaks, muzzles/snouts, lizard-like torsos, and horns.
Above: a digital tracing of the full-sized painting, with one of the anoas and several human-like figures magnified
It's possible that some of these animal-like traits represent masks, headdresses, or costumes, but several of the figures also exhibit more extreme features that cannot be produced by simple costumes. Researchers argue that the animal-like costumes would also be useless and impractical as hunting props, given that they mostly seem to mimic small animals like birds and lizards.
Above: two of the figures that are described as therianthropes, both of which seem to be using spears or ropes to subdue the much larger anoa
The original analysis of this painting in 2019 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 makes 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 be 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 in 2014, 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/or dated many other cave paintings from Sulawesi that date back to more than 40,000 to 51,200 years ago.
These discoveries firmly contradict the traditional (and deeply eurocentric) assumptions that had previously been made about 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; in some caves, patches of artwork measuring 2-3cm wide are vanishing every few months.
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 -- and a Sophisticated Imagination
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
Nature: Humanity's Oldest Art is Flaking Away
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