The pig painting at Leang Tedongnge cave, Sulawesi © A. A. Oktaviana, ARKENAS/Griffith University.
Deep within a cave in central Indonesia, archaeologists have discovered a wild pig painting created, they say, at least 45,500 years ago. It is now claimed to be the oldest known animal painting in the world.
The life-size work, painted in red ochre pigment and measuring 136cm by 54cm, was identified as depicting a Sulawesi warty pig. It was uncovered in the Leang Tedongnge cave in a remote valley on the island of Sulawesi by Adam Brumm and his team from Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, who published their findings in
Indoneesiast leiti maailma vanim looma kujutav koopamaaling
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Descubren en Indonesia la pintura rupestre figurativa más antigua del mundo
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Maailma vanim looma kujutav koopamaaling valmis inimeste poolt, kes on juba täpselt nagu meie!
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Cave Painting of Pigs Might Be the Oldest Known Artwork of Animals
Image: Maxime Aubert
A pig painting inside an Indonesian cave has been dated to 43,900 years old, making it among the oldest if not
the oldest known figurative art piece in the archaeological record.
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The painting was found at the Leang Tedongnge cave site on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island. The artwork appears to depict a confrontation or some sort of social interaction, between three Sulawesi warty pigs (
Sus celebensis). These short-legged pigs, with their characteristic warty faces, are still around today, and during the Pleistocene they represented an important prey animal for the early humans who lived in this part of the world. That early humans living on the island would depict these creatures on their cave walls is an indication of their cultural, social, and existential importance.