Sulawesi cave art dates to at least 67,800 years ago.

Researchers report a hand stencil in Sulawesi dated to at least 67,800 years ago, described as the oldest securely dated cave art, and the cave sequence shows painting continued across many millennia with later additions around 4,000 years ago.

Researchers report cave paintings in limestone caves on the island of Sulawesi that date to deep prehistory. A faint red hand stencil has been dated to at least 67,800 years ago. The study, published in Nature, used uranium analysis of mineral deposits that formed above and below the pigments to establish minimum and maximum ages. These results place Southeast Asian rock art well before the oldest cave paintings known from Europe. Key findings: - A red hand stencil in Sulawesi is reported as dated to at least 67,800 years ago, which the authors describe as the oldest securely dated cave art anywhere. - Dating relied on measuring tiny amounts of uranium in mineral layers that formed on top of, or beneath, the pigment coatings to set minimum or maximum ages for images. - The hand stencil belongs to a local Sulawesi style in which finger tips were altered to appear pointed, a feature not found elsewhere. - Caves were used for painting repeatedly over a long period, with activity continuing until about the Last Glacial Maximum (~20,000 years ago) and new images added around 4,000 years ago by Austronesian-speaking farmers. - The dated art lies along a proposed northern migration route into Sahul and is reported as likely connected to populations that later became the ancestors of Indigenous Australians and Papuans. Summary: The findings extend the known geographic and temporal range of early symbolic behaviour beyond Ice Age Europe and indicate that complex imagery existed in Wallacea tens of thousands of years ago. The dated works strengthen archaeological connections along a northern route into Sahul. Undetermined at this time.