Handprints on cave walls in a largely unexplored area of Indonesia may be the oldest rock art studied so far, dating back at least 67,800 years, according to a study published Wednesday in Nature. The tan-colored prints were made by blowing pigment over hands placed against the stone, with some fingertips deliberately modified to appear more pointed. Indonesian and Australian researchers dated the artwork by analyzing mineral crusts that had accumulated on top of the paintings.
The discovery offers evidence of when early human ancestors developed artistic expression beyond simple marks. Scientists are working to understand the progression from basic markings to more complex representations, helping establish a timeline for the emergence of human creativity.
Indonesian handprints discovered on cave walls in Sulawesi represent the oldest rock art studied to date. The tan-colored stencils, created by blowing pigment across hands held against stone, point to a flourishing artistic culture more than 67,800 years ago.
The handprints show deliberate artistry. Some fingertips are modified to look more pointed, suggesting the artists understood visual composition. Indonesian and Australian researchers established the age by analyzing mineral crusts that accumulated on top of the paintings over tens of thousands of years.
The discovery reveals a complex artistic tradition at an extraordinarily early moment in human history. It helps scientists understand when human ancestors moved beyond simple marks to more meaningful representations of themselves and their world.
“For us, this discovery is not the end of the story,” said Maxime Aubert, a study author with Griffith University, in an email. “It is an invitation to keep looking.”
Who Made These Handprints?
Scientists remain uncertain who created the prints. The artists may have been Denisovans, an ancient human group known to inhabit the region, or early modern humans who ventured from Africa around the same period. Fine details on the paintings, including the intentionally modified fingertips, point to a human hand.
A Global Timeline of Rock Art
The handprints rank among the world’s oldest documented art. Cross-hatched markings on a rock in South Africa have been dated to about 73,000 years ago, but the Sulawesi prints are the oldest art found on cave walls.
Other drawings discovered in the same area tell a different story of the region’s artistic history. Nearby paintings depicting a human figure, a bird, and horselike animals were created much more recently, some around 4,000 years ago. The range of dates suggests artistic traditions persisted on the island across thousands of generations.
Independent paleoanthropologist Genevieve von Petzinger responded to the findings with enthusiasm. “It fits everything I’d been thinking,” she said.
The research, published Wednesday in Nature, represents a significant step in mapping human creativity across deep time. Future studies of neighboring islands may uncover even older artistic traditions, revealing how these practices spread across the globe and became woven into the fabric of human culture.