Ancient Homo Sapiens Rock Art: 67,800-Year-Old Hand Stencil Discovered in Indonesia

A collaborative effort between an international team of scientists, including experts from Griffith University in Australia and Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN), has led to a discovery that fundamentally alters our understanding of human cognitive history. Within the limestone depths of the Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, situated in Indonesia's Sulawesi province, researchers identified a hand stencil dating back at least 67,800 years. This remarkable find has been officially recognized as the earliest known instance of rock art created by modern humans, Homo sapiens, marking a significant milestone in archaeological records.

To determine the precise age of the artwork, the scientific team employed uranium-series dating on the calcite layers that had naturally formed over the pigment. Lead researchers Professor Maxime Aubert and Professor Adam Brumm from Griffith University clarified that this specific methodology provides a minimum age for the creation, meaning the art could potentially be even older. The stencil itself was produced using a negative imaging technique, where ochre was likely blown over a hand pressed against the cave wall. A striking stylistic detail of this artifact is the intentional narrowing of the fingers into pointed, claw-like shapes—a motif previously observed in other Sulawesi rock art, suggesting a sophisticated level of symbolic communication and artistic intent.

At a minimum of 67,800 years old, this hand stencil significantly predates the previous record-holder for Homo sapiens art, which was a 51,200-year-old depiction of three human figures and a wild pig. Furthermore, the Indonesian discovery is more than 1,100 years older than the famous Neanderthal handprints found in Spain. The evidence from Muna Island confirms that our ancestors possessed advanced artistic capabilities and symbolic thought nearly 68 millennia ago, pushing the known boundaries of primitive art much further back into the Pleistocene epoch than previously thought possible.

Beyond its aesthetic and cognitive value, the find offers critical insights into the migration patterns of early humans. Scientists believe the creators of these paintings were likely the ancestors of modern Indigenous Australians. The presence of Homo sapiens in the Sunda Islands during this era reinforces the theory that the colonization of Australia—then part of the Sahul supercontinent—occurred via a northern route involving island hopping. Professor Brumm noted that this discovery provides substantial weight to the argument that humans reached Australia and New Guinea at least 65,000 years ago, aligning the archaeological record with genetic and environmental data.

The Liang Metanduno cave appears to have been a site of continuous cultural activity, with the most recent artworks dating to approximately 35,000 years ago, indicating a tradition spanning tens of thousands of years. The research team, which includes Indonesian specialists and contributors like Renaud Joannes-Boyau from Southern Cross University, continues to explore the region's vast archaeological potential. This group previously uncovered a 45,500-year-old warty pig painting at Leang Tedongnge and 44,000-year-old therianthrope scenes at Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. Professor Aubert suggests that they are currently only "scratching the surface," as hundreds of unexplored rock art sites remain throughout the region, promising more revelations about our shared human heritage.