The oldest cave art ever found is a hand stencil, dating back almost 68,000 years. This discovery is a game-changer, as it's more than 15,000 years older than the next oldest cave painting found in Sulawesi, Indonesia. The Sulawesi painting, which depicts three human-like figures interacting with a pig, is estimated to be around 51,200 years old. This revelation challenges our understanding of the origins of rock art, as it suggests that humans outside of Europe were creating incredibly sophisticated cave art tens of thousands of years earlier than previously thought. The find also has implications for the arrival of the first humans in Australia, as it strengthens the argument that modern humans were in the region at least 65,000 years ago. This discovery was made by Adhi Oktaviana, an Indonesian rock art specialist, who noticed faint hand stencils behind more recent paintings. The team's findings highlight the importance of continued exploration and research in Indonesia, where much of the art remains archaeologically unexplored. While Liang Metanduno is a well-known site for cave art, most of the art found so far is much more recent, dating back about 4,000 years. The discovery of these ancient hand stencils is a significant contribution to our understanding of human history and artistic expression.
