Archive · 25 Jan 2026
68,000-Year-Old Hand Art Found in Indonesia
Scientists found a very old handprint drawing in a cave in Indonesia.
This handprint is about 68,000 years old, making it the oldest cave art ever found.
Before this, people thought that the oldest cave art was from Europe, but this new discovery shows that people in Indonesia were making art much earlier.
The handprint was made by blowing red paint onto the cave wall while resting the hand on it.
The fingers in the handprint look a bit like animal claws, which might mean that the people who made it were thinking about the relationship between humans and animals.
This discovery changes what we know about when humans started to create art and think in symbolic ways.
A 67,800-year-old hand stencil was discovered in the limestone caves of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia.
The handprint is the oldest known cave artwork in the world, predating previous records by 15,000 years.
The artwork was created by blowing red paint onto a cave wall while resting the hand on it.
The handprint's fingers appear altered, resembling animal claws, suggesting early symbolic thinking.
This discovery challenges the notion that abstract and symbolic thinking began only 40,000 years ago in Europe.
- Who
- Researchers led by Professor Adam Brumm
- What
- Discovered a 67,800-year-old hand stencil in Indonesia
- When
- The artwork was created 67,800 years ago
- Where
- Limestone caves of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia
- Why
- To understand early human creativity and symbolic thinking
- Location
- Limestone caves of Sulawesi Island, Indonesia
- Age of Artwork
- 67,800 years old
- Type of Artwork
- Red human handprint
- Creation Method
- Blowing red paint onto a cave wall while resting the hand on it
- Previous Oldest Cave Painting
- Approximately 15,000 years younger, also in Sulawesi
- Oldest Cave Painting in France
- Approximately 30,000 years younger than the Indonesian handprint
- Research Journal
- Nature
- Lead Researcher
- Professor Adam Brumm, Griffiths University, Australia