- Title: Indonesian cave art is earliest known record of "story telling," researchers say
- Date: 16th December 2019
- Summary: PICTURE TRACED FROM ROCK ART, SHOWING PIGS AND ANOA (SOUNDBITE) (Bahasa Indonesia) RESEARCHER AT INDONESIA NATIONAL RESEARCH CENTRE FOR ARCHAEOLOGY, ADHI AGUS OKTAVIANA, SAYING: "In Indonesia, (the cave) is more open. In Europe, it is easy, they only have to close (the cave) with iron (fence). Temperature monitoring is easy. In Indonesia, it (the cave) is very open, so defects can come from pollution, dust from cement factories, dust from motorcycles, and from the tourists. Because usually when we arrive inside the cave, our body temperature is still high after climbing inside. There is a rule generally. Now, there is a rule from BPCB (South Sulawesi Cultural Heritage Conservation Center). Any visitor who arrives inside the cave should take a break so their body temperature matches the cave temperature. Smokers have to take a break too, as (cigarettes) are worse, based on research." MAROS, SOUTH SULAWESI PROVINCE, INDONESIA (DECEMBER 15, 2019) (REUTERS) MAN HOLDING FLASHLIGHT TO CAVE WALL MEN LOOKING, POINTING, AND EXPLAINING THE ROCK ART MEN POINTING AT THE ROCK ART ROCK ART
- Embargoed: 30th December 2019 09:59
- Keywords:
- Location: SOUTH SULAWESI AND JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- City: SOUTH SULAWESI AND JAKARTA, INDONESIA
- Country: Indonesia
- Topics: Art,Arts / Culture / Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA003BA856IV
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:A cave painting found on Indonesia's island of Sulawesi, depicting human-like figures hunting animals, appears to be the earliest known pictorial record of story-telling, according to a study by a team of Australian and Indonesian researchers.
The painting, found in a limestone cave in 2017, was dated to nearly 44,000 years ago using uranium-series analysis, they said in the study published last week in the journal Nature. It shows eight therianthropes, or humans with animal characteristics, appearing to chase and kill six animals such as the warty pigs native to the island, using what seem to be spears and ropes.
Until now, the oldest rock art showing a character with the characteristics of an animal had been an ivory sculpture found in a cave in Germany. Thought to date back 40,000 years, it depicts a human body attached to a feline-like head.
The research was done in collaboration with Indonesia's National Research Centre for Archaeology, and scientists from culture heritage department of Makassar, the provincial capital. Some of the caves had sustained damage that could threaten the art, said Indonesian rock art expert Adhi Agus Oktaviana, pointing to threats from salt, dust, peeling, microbes and smoke.
(Production: Rahman Muchtar, Adi Kurniawan, Heru Asprihanto, Wahyuwidi Cinthya) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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