World’s Oldest Cave Art Found, But Who Made It?

On the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, scientists have discovered what is now officially the world’s oldest known cave art: a collection of hand stencils dated to at least 67,800 years old.

The art, consisting of handprints made by blowing pigment over hands placed against the cave wall—with some fingertips intentionally modified to appear more pointed—was analyzed by dating mineral crusts that had formed on top of the paintings.

This astonishing age pushes the origins of complex artistic tradition back significantly and presents a fascinating mystery, as the timing means the artists may not have been modern humans but could have been the ancient human relatives known as Denisovans, who inhabited the region.

Published in the journal Nature, the discovery not only breaks the previous record but also signals that the region is “vastly understudied,” with researchers confident that even older art is waiting to be found on nearby islands, reshaping our understanding of how and when artistic expression began.