A hand stencil dating back nearly 68,000 years, discovered in a cave on Sulawesi, Indonesia, may be the world's oldest rock art. The artwork, found at Liang Metanduno on Muna Island, shows signs of deliberate modification to resemble claws. This predates previously known examples from Neanderthals in Spain by over 1,000 years.
In a significant archaeological find, researchers led by Maxime Aubert of Griffith University in Australia have identified what appears to be the earliest known rock art. The partial hand stencil at Liang Metanduno, dated to 67,800 years ago, surpasses the previous record holder—a Neanderthal hand stencil in northern Spain from at least 66,700 years ago—by about 1,100 years.
Sulawesi has long been recognized as a crucial site in human history, with evidence of hominin presence dating back 1.4 million years, including early sea voyages by Homo erectus. In 2024, Aubert's team reported the world's oldest representational art on the island: a 51,200-year-old depiction of a pig with human-like figures. This latest discovery includes 44 additional rock art sites in southeastern Sulawesi.
The stencil stands out due to its artistic alteration. Aubert notes that the tip of one finger was narrowed, likely through extra pigment or hand movement during application—a technique unique to Sulawesi. "It’s more than just a stencil of a hand," Aubert explains. "They are retouching it... it seems to me they want to make it look more like it’s an animal hand, possibly with claws."
The creators were probably modern humans, Homo sapiens, and close ancestors of the first people to reach Australia, where occupation at Madjedbebe in Arnhem Land dates to at least 60,000 years ago. Sulawesi likely served as a key stepping stone from Southeast Asia to New Guinea and Australia.
Team member Adam Brumm highlights the creativity: the artist transformed a standard hand outline into something resembling an animal claw, demonstrating abstract thinking not seen in the Neanderthal example. Martin Porr of the University of Western Australia agrees this is the oldest rock art attributable to Homo sapiens, aligning with evidence of early human presence in the region. Aubert emphasizes the broader implications: "The people who made that art are probably the ancestors of the first Australians and now we know their ancestors were making rock art in Sulawesi at least 68,000 years ago."
The findings are detailed in a paper published in Nature (DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-09968-y).
