The oldest narrative rock painting has been discovered – it is approximately 51,200 years old

Among the huge rock walls of an Indonesian island, archaeologists have discovered the oldest known example of storytelling art.

The rock painting is one of many found around the low-lying karst landscape of South Sulawesi. It depicts three humanoid figures interacting with a pig. The researchers describe it as a «mysterious scene» that may represent a «hunting narrative».

«The artist has taken care to place these four individual figures in spatial proximity to each other and to depict their interaction in such a way that the observer can imagine the actions taking place between the figures. The result is a composed scene that conveys the story of the», — said Adam Brumm, study author and professor of archaeology at Griffith University in Brisbane.

Using a new technique to determine the age, the research team concluded that the pigment was carefully applied to the rock wall at least 51,200 years ago. Consequently, this drawing is now considered the oldest representative of a narrative work of art. It is also a new record holder as the oldest known element of figurative cave art. Usually, narrative compositions began to spread in the world about 14-11 thousand years ago. At least, that’s how it used to be believed.

More than 35 thousand years ago, most works of art were limited to abstract forms without reference to the visible world. A few rock art scenes from this period can be considered figurative, meaning they depict recognizable figures and objects from physical reality, such as people and other animals. However, they are extremely rare. However, they can be found in large numbers on the island of Sulawesi.

The emergence of narrative art highlights an important milestone in human history. As our societies and communities have become more complex, our artwork has also become more complex – starting with abstract shapes and curls that evolved into figurative images that not only reflect reality but also contain deep meaning.

«The art of Sulawesi is now the oldest known evidence of this key development in art history, but it probably had its origins somewhere in Africa, where our species evolved,» Adam Brumm said.

He added that people must have used similar forms of image-making in other parts of the world at an equivalent time period and even earlier. But evidence of this has either not survived or has not yet been discovered.

Source: iflscience