The World's Oldest Figurative Paintings

Scientists from Australia and Indonesia have uncovered the world's oldest figurative artwork in the Indonesian province of South Sulawesi BBC reported.

The cave paintings on Karampuang Hill on the island of Celebes represent a wild pig and three human figures and are at least 52,300 years old, making them more than 5,000 years older than any other known cave art.

According to Prof. Maxime Aubert of Griffith University in Australia, the discovery has the potential to alter our understanding of human evolution. "This picture depicts a complex story. It is the oldest surviving record of a narrative. "It demonstrates that people could think abstractly even back then," he emphasized.

The pig in the painting has its mouth partially open. The largest of the human figures has its hands outstretched and appears to be holding a stick. The second figure is painted directly in front of the pig and also appears to be holding a stick that may be touching the animal's throat. The third figure is upside down and has one of its hands reaching toward the pig's head.

The oldest paintings – made over 72 thousand years ago – were discovered in Africa, but they are geometric patterns.