Caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst

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Pettakere Cave
Leang Pettakere
Hands in Pettakere Cave.jpg
Hand print paintings
Sulawesi topography plain.png
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
location in Indonesia
Indonesia relief location map.jpg
Archaeological site icon (red).svg
Caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst (Indonesia)
Location Bantimurung district
Region South Sulawesi, Indonesia
Coordinates 5°0′11″S119°41′40″E / 5.00306°S 119.69444°E / -5.00306; 119.69444
Type limestone karst
Part ofPrehistoric place Leang-Leang
History
Materiallimestone
Associated withPaleo-humans
Site notes
Excavation dates1973
ArchaeologistsIan Glover

The caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst are situated in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and contain paintings from the Paleolithic considered to be the earliest figurative art in the world, dated to at least 43,900 years ago. [1] [2]

Contents

Description

Redrawing of hunting scene from the Caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst Maros hunting scene.png
Redrawing of hunting scene from the Caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst

The caves in the Maros-Pangkep karst are a cave complex, where prehistoric finds were made. [3] The whole complex is also called "Prehistoric place Leang-Leang"; the name stems from the Makassarese language. [4] The various caves — named Pettae, Jane, Saripa, Jarie, Karrasa, and so on — consist of limestone. They are located 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) from the town of Maros and 30 kilometres (19 mi) from the city of Makassar. [5] The entrance to the caves is located 30 metres (98 ft) above a rice field, accessible by ladder. [6] [7]

A hand stencil in the Leang Tempuseng cave was dated to at least 39,900 years old in a 2014 study. [8] The depiction of a babirusa is also located in this cave. It is estimated to be 35,400 years old. The art works were examined with the help of the Uranium-Thorium method of the sintering on the paintings. [9]

Pig-deer paint paintings Pig-deer print paintings in Pettakere Cave, Maros.jpg
Pig-deer paint paintings

Inside the entrance of the Pettakare cave, on the roof, are 26 red and white hand prints, not yet dated as of 2014. [6] Primitive stencils of human hands, the white prints were executed by "placing the hand up against the wall and then blowing a mixture of red ochre and water around them, leaving a negative image on the rock". [4] The red hand prints could have been produced by immersing the hand in a solution tinted red from "chewed-up foliage". [6] The hand prints face both left and right. [4] Some are missing a thumb; it was common practice to cut off a finger when an elder died. [6] According to an official with the Makassar Center for Cultural and Heritage Preservation, the palm of the hand was believed to have power to ward off "evil forces and wild animals", thus protecting the people who lived inside the cave. [6] In addition to the hand prints, a roughly half-meter (two-foot) long painting of a red hog deer is in the middle. [6]

Pettakare cave's large room has several small niches, presumed to have been sleeping places for the people who lived there. [6] The cave has a temperature of 27 °C (81 °F) during the daytime. [6]

On a rock wall in the cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong (near Pangkep) representations of several animals and mixed animal-human beings (therianthropes) were found. A dark red pigment was used. In one scene several small humanoid figures (4 to 8 cm long) are connected with ropes or spears to a large anoa (74 by 29 cm). The paintings were examined by uranium series dating of the overlying speleothems. The age of the paintings is said to be at least 43,900 years. According to Aubert, it is the oldest figurative work of art known so far (2019) in the world and also the oldest hunting scene in prehistoric art. [10] The wall paintings discovered by Pak Hamrullah in 2017 were dated and described in more detail by the research team around Maxime Aubert in 2019. [11] [12]

In 2021, an image of a roughly life-size Celebes warty pig (Sus celebensis, also called Sulawesi warty pig or Sulawesi pig) in Leang Tedongnge Cave was dated to be at least 45,500 years old, making it currently the oldest known figurative cave painting in the world. [13] [14] [15]

History

The caves have been known and used by the local people for a long time. Dutch archaeologists began digging at nearby caves during the 1950s, but Pettakare cave was first examined by British archaeologist Ian Glover in 1973. [4] [16]

Scientific examinations conducted in 2011 estimated that the hand stencils and animal painting on the walls were between 35,000 and 40,000 years old. [16] [17] The age of the paintings was estimated through analysis of small radioactive traces of uranium isotopes present in the crust that had accumulated on top of the paintings. [16] The hand paintings are at least as old as cave paintings in Europe, such as those at the Cave of El Castillo (Spain) and Gorham's Cave (Gibraltar). [7] [18]

In October 2014, the Indonesian government promised to "step up" the protection of ancient cave paintings, and announced plans to place all the caves in Sulawesi on the nation's official "cultural heritage" list, as well as apply for inclusion on UNESCO's list of World Heritage Sites. [19]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sulawesi</span> One of the Greater Sunda Islands of Indonesia

Sulawesi, also known as Celebes, is an island in Indonesia. One of the four Greater Sunda Islands, and the world's 11th-largest island, it is situated east of Borneo, west of the Maluku Islands, and south of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago. Within Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra are more populous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave painting</span> Paintings, often prehistoric, on cave walls and ceilings

In archaeology, cave paintings are a type of parietal art, found on the wall or ceilings of caves. The term usually implies prehistoric origin. These paintings were often created by Homo sapiens, but also Denisovans and Neanderthals; other species in the same Homo genus. Discussion around prehistoric art is important in understanding the history of the Homo sapiens species and how Homo sapiens have come to have unique abstract thoughts. Some point to these prehistoric paintings as possible examples of creativity, spirituality, and sentimental thinking in prehistoric humans.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Kalimantan</span> Province of Indonesia

East Kalimantan is a province of Indonesia. Its territory comprises the eastern portion of Borneo. It had a population of about 3.03 million at the 2010 census, 3.42 million at the 2015 census, and 3.766 million at the 2020 census; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 4,030,488. Its capital is the city of Samarinda.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Sulawesi</span> Province of Indonesia

West Sulawesi is a province of Indonesia. It borders the provinces of South Sulawesi and Central Sulawesi to the east, Makassar Strait to the west, and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The province also shares maritime borders with East Kalimantan and South Kalimantan to the west and West Nusa Tenggara to the south. It is located on the western side of Sulawesi island. It covers a land area of 17,152.99 km2, and its capital is the town of Mamuju. The 2010 Census recorded a population of 1,158,651, while that in 2020 recorded 1,419,228; the official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,481,077.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Paleolithic</span> Subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age

The Upper Paleolithic is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago, according to some theories coinciding with the appearance of behavioral modernity in early modern humans, until the advent of the Neolithic Revolution and agriculture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maros</span>

Maros is a town in the South Sulawesi province of Indonesia close to the provincial capital of Makassar. It is the capital of the Maros Regency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Celebes warty pig</span> Suid from Sulawesi (Sus celebensis)

The Celebes warty pig, also called Sulawesi warty pig or Sulawesi pig, is a species in the pig genus (Sus) that lives on Sulawesi in Indonesia. It survives in most habitats and can live in altitudes of up to 2,500 m (8,000 ft). It has been domesticated and introduced to a number of other islands in Indonesia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paleolithic religion</span> Religions thought to have appeared during the Paleolithic time period

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Painting</span> Practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art of the Middle Paleolithic</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Art of the Upper Paleolithic</span> Oldest form of prehistoric art

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prehistoric Indonesia</span>

Prehistoric Indonesia is a prehistoric period in the Indonesian archipelago that spanned from the Pleistocene period to about the 4th century CE when the Kutai people produced the earliest known stone inscriptions in Indonesia. Unlike the clear distinction between prehistoric and historical periods in Europe and the Middle East, the division is muddled in Indonesia. This is mostly because Indonesia's geographical conditions as a vast archipelago caused some parts — especially the interiors of distant islands — to be virtually isolated from the rest of the world. West Java and coastal Eastern Borneo, for example, began their historical periods in the early 4th century, but megalithic culture still flourished and script was unknown in the rest of Indonesia, including in Nias and Toraja. The Papuans on the Indonesian part of New Guinea island lived virtually in the Stone Age until their first contacts with modern world in the early 20th century. Even today living megalithic traditions still can be found on the island of Sumba and Nias.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maros Regency</span> Regency in South Sulawesi, Indonesia

Maros Regency is a regency of South Sulawesi province of Indonesia. It covers an area of 1,619.12 sq.km, and had a population of 319,002 at the 2010 Census and 391,774 at the Census of 2020. The official population estimate for mid-2023 was 407,920 according the Province's official estimates but only 389,277 according to the Regency's official estimates. Almost all of the regency lies within the official metropolitan area of the city of Makassar. The administrative centre of the regency is the town of Maros.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Archaeology of Indonesia</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indonesian painting</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toalean culture</span> Indigenous peoples of Sulawesi

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Besséʼ</span>

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References

  1. Aubert, M., Brumm, A., Ramli, M. et al. Pleistocene cave art from Sulawesi, Indonesia. Nature 514, 223–227 (2014) doi:10.1038/nature13422
  2. 1993 Indonesia, Malaysia & Singapore Handbook. Prentice Hall. 1993. ISBN   9780138251833 . Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  3. Jo Marchant, Justin Mott, 'A Journey to the Oldest Cave Paintings in the World', Smithsonian.com, January 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Price, Liz (20 January 2008). "Sulawesi cave of hands". The Brunei Times . Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  5. Volkman, Toby Alice (1990). Sulawesi: Island crossroads of Indonesia. Passport Books. ISBN   9780844299068 . Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Pitaloka, Dyah Ayu (6 July 2014). "Exploring the Leang-Leang Caves of Maros". Jakarta Globe . Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  7. 1 2 Domínguez, Gabriel (9 October 2014). "Indonesian cave paintings – Rewriting art history". Deutsche Welle . Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  8. M. Aubert et al., "Pleistocene cave art from Sulawesi, Indonesia", Nature volume 514, pages 223–227 (9 October 2014) "using uranium-series dating of coralloid speleothems directly associated with 12 human hand stencils and two figurative animal depictions from seven cave sites in the Maros karsts of Sulawesi, we show that rock art traditions on this Indonesian island are at least compatible in age with the oldest European art. The earliest dated image from Maros, with a minimum age of 39.9 kyr, is now the oldest known hand stencil in the world." The hand stencil mentioned is labelled Leang Timpuseng 2.3, corrected age 40.70+0.87
    −0.84
     kyr
    () (p.226, Table 1), significantly older than the El Castillo hand stencil (sample O-32), corrected age 37.64±0.34 kyr according to García-Diez, M. et al., "The chronology of hand stencils in European Palaeolithic rock art: implications of new U-series results from El Castillo Cave (Cantabria, Spain)", Journal of Anthropological Sciences Vol. 93 (2015), pp. 135-152, doi : 10.4436/JASS.93004.
  9. Aubert et al., 2014: Pleistocene cave art from Sulawesi, Indonesia, Nature, 514, 223–227
  10. Maxime Aubert, Rustan Lebe, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Muhammad Tang, Basran Burhan, Hamrullah, Andi Jusdi, Abdullah, Budianto Hakim, Jian-xin Zhao, I. Made Geria, Priyatno Hadi Sulistyarto, Ratno Sardi & Adam Brumm: Earliest hunting scene in prehistoric art, in: Nature, Vol. 576, S. 442–445, 2019.
  11. Ulrich Bahnsen, Urs Willmann: Höhlenmalerei: Es werde Kunst, ZeitOnline, 11. Dezember 2019
  12. Andrea Naica-Loebell: Älteste Jagd-Malerei der Menschheitsgeschichte, heise.de, 15. Dezember 2019
  13. "World's 'oldest known cave painting' found in Indonesia". TheGuardian.com . 13 January 2021.
  14. Adam Brumm, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Basran Burhan, Budianto Hakim, Rustan Lebe, Jian-xin Zhao, Priyatno Hadi Sulistyarto, Marlon Ririmasse, Shinatria Adhityatama, Iwan Sumantri, Maxime Aubert: Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi, Science Advances, 13 Jan 2021: Vol. 7, no. 3, eabd4648 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abd4648
  15. Adam Brumm; et al. (2021). "Oldest cave art found in Sulawesi". Vol. 7, no. 3. Science Advances. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abd4648.
  16. 1 2 3 Domínguez, Gabriel (9 October 2014). "Indonesian cave paintings 'revolutionized our idea of human art'". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  17. Devlin, Hannah (11 December 2019). "Earliest known cave art by modern humans found in Indonesia". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 December 2019.
  18. Le Roux, Mariette (9 October 2014). "Southeast Asian cave paintings challenge Europe as cradle of art". Rappler. Agence France-Presse . Retrieved 22 November 2014.
  19. "Indonesia pledges to protect ancient cave paintings". Rappler. Agence France-Presse. 9 October 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.

Further reading