World’s Oldest Known Artwork Found in Indonesian Cave: A 67,800-Year-Old Hand Stencil

By Staff, Agencies

A faded hand stencil found on a cave wall in Indonesia has been confirmed as the oldest known human-made art, dating back at least 67,800 years.

Located in Liang Metanduno cave on a small island off Sulawesi, the stencil was made by placing a hand against limestone and blowing pigment around it, leaving a negative outline.

Although now faint, the reddish-orange trace remains visible beneath a calcite layer that formed over time. Scientists dated the calcite to at least 71,000 years, meaning the hand stencil must be older, making it the world’s oldest surviving artwork and beating the previous record held by a Neanderthal stencil in Spain.

Researchers surveyed 44 rock art sites in Sulawesi and nearby islands, discovering new sites and dating multiple pieces, including a 51,200-year-old mural of humanlike figures and animals. The find supports the idea that Sulawesi was home to a long-lasting artistic culture in the late Pleistocene.

It also strengthens evidence that early humans crossed open water to reach the islands of Wallacea, suggesting planned sea travel much earlier than previously believed and supporting claims that humans may have reached Australia by around 65,000 years ago.

The cave contains multiple layers of art from different eras, including other hand stencils and later drawings added thousands of years afterward, showing that people returned to the site across generations.

The discovery not only rewrites the timeline of early human creativity but also provides a rare, tangible connection to people who lived nearly 68,000 years ago.