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View all search resultsGovt to protect world’s oldest rock art site in Sulawesi
Following the publication of a study on the world’s oldest-dated rock art in Southeast Sulawesi, Culture Minister Fadli Zon said the government would balance the preservation and utilization of the caves where the ancient artwork was found.
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A faded hand stencil that is dated at least 67,800 years old is highlighted by a color palette chart held by an archaeologist during an expedition at the Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, Southeast Sulawesi, in May 2019. (Handout/Courtey of Maxime Aubert)
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he government has pledged to protect archaeological sites in Southeast Sulawesi, especially a cave on Muna Island where the world’s oldest rock art was discovered amid mounting concerns over environmental and tourism-related damage.
In a study published on Wednesday in Nature, an archaeological research team discovered a hand stencil at the Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island possibly made some 67,800 years ago, a conclusion taken following a laser-ablation uranium series analysis on the calcium carbonate deposit on top of the artwork.
The result makes the hand stencil the world’s oldest to be dated so far, even older than a cave painting of a pig in Maros Pangkep karst cave in South Sulawesi, which was dated at around 51,200 years old.
Culture Minister Fadli Zon welcomed the study, calling it a milestone in Indonesia’s cultural and scientific history.
“This is wonderful news. It proves that cultural expression has existed here since at least 67,800 years ago,” the minister said at a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.
Read also: World’s ‘oldest’ rock art discovered in Southeast Sulawesi
He emphasized the government’s commitment to safeguarding the site, including by upgrading its status from a provincial cultural heritage site to a nationally protected one to allow for stronger intervention.
