Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.
Find the Right Drivers →Free scan · under a minute
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
ThatPainter is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Learn More
Quick wins for a faster PC:
Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →A hand stencil in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, southeast Sulawesi, is at least 67,800 ± 3,800 years old. That makes it the oldest demonstrated minimum-age constraint for cave art reported so far—but the number dates a mineral crust that formed over the image, not the pigment directly.
#1 Best Overall
How old is the world’s oldest hand stencil?
The Nature study published in 2026 gives the stencil a minimum age of 67.8 ± 3.8 thousand years. In practical terms, the artwork must predate the overlying calcite layer. It could therefore be older than 67,800 years; the result is not a claim that someone painted it exactly 67,800 years ago.
What scientists actually dated
Researchers used laser-ablation uranium-series dating on calcite covering part of the stencil. The calcite returned an age of 71.6 ± 3.8 thousand years. Because the mineral crust formed after the pigment was applied, its age provides a minimum-age constraint for the underlying art. This is why “at least 67,800 years old” is scientifically accurate, while “made exactly 67,800 years ago” is not.
Where was the 67,800-year-old hand stencil found?
The image is at Liang Metanduno, a cave site on Muna Island in southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia. Muna lies in Wallacea, the island region between continental Southeast Asia and Australia–New Guinea. The wider region contains several Pleistocene and possibly younger motifs, placing the stencil within a broader record of early image-making rather than as an isolated modern discovery.
Do these 3 things before closing this tab:
1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteWhat a hand stencil is
A hand stencil is a negative image. An artist places a hand against the cave wall and blows or sprays pigment around it; removing the hand leaves its outline. The Muna stencil appears to include distinctive, modified-looking fingertips. Their significance is unknown: the study records the physical feature, but does not establish whether it represented identity, ritual, injury, or another intention.
Rank #3
Why this result changes the cave-art timeline
The Muna minimum is older than earlier published minimum-age constraints. The Nature study says it exceeds the reported Maros-Pangkep rock-art minimum by 16.6 thousand years and the minimum for a Spanish hand stencil attributed to Neanderthals by 1.1 thousand years.
| Evidence | Reported minimum or age | What the figure means |
|---|---|---|
| Liang Metanduno hand stencil, Muna | 67.8 ± 3.8 thousand years | Minimum age inferred from overlying calcite |
| Calcite over the Muna stencil | 71.6 ± 3.8 thousand years | Uranium-series age of the mineral crust |
| Earlier Sulawesi hand stencil at Maros | 39.9 thousand years | Published minimum reported in the 2014 Nature study |
| Sulawesi narrative painting | 51.2 thousand years | Age reported in a 2024 Nature briefing for representational art |
These comparisons identify the oldest demonstrated minimum among the published examples. They do not show that no older art exists: undiscovered images, inaccessible cave surfaces, or artworks without datable mineral coatings could change the record.
Is it the oldest human-made art of any kind?
It is the oldest demonstrated cave-art minimum in this evidence, and it is non-figurative: the image is an outline of a human hand rather than a painted animal, person, or scene.
That category matters. A separate Sulawesi narrative painting dated to 51.2 thousand years was described in 2024 as the earliest known representational art at that time. The Muna stencil is older overall, but it does not replace that record for representational or narrative imagery. “Oldest art” depends on whether the comparison is all surviving human-made images, hand stencils, cave art, or representational scenes.
Best Value
- Over 200 paintings, sculptures, photographs, and conceptual pieces
- Length: 7.75in / 20cm, Depth: 2in / 5cm, Width: 6in / 15cm
- By Hans Werner Holzwarth
- Hardcover
- 696 pages
How do scientists date cave paintings?
Dating depends on the materials preserved with an artwork. In this case, the useful material was calcite deposited after the pigment. Uranium-series methods measure radioactive uranium decay products in the mineral and can establish when that crust formed. The sequence is the key evidence:
- Image made: pigment was applied around a hand on the cave wall.
- Mineral deposited: water left a calcite coating over part of the stencil.
- Calcite dated: laser-ablation uranium-series analysis estimated the crust’s age.
- Minimum established: the stencil must be older than the dated coating.
This approach constrains the artwork from above. It does not recover the exact day, year, or pigment-making event, and the uncertainty interval belongs with the reported age.
Does the Sulawesi stencil prove when humans reached Australia?
No. The finding bears on the question because Muna is in Wallacea, along the broad region between Asia and Sahul, the combined Pleistocene landmass of Australia and New Guinea. An image at least 67,800 years old demonstrates that people were making art in this part of Island Southeast Asia by then.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
It does not identify the artists, specify which island-hopping route they used, or prove the date of arrival in Australia–New Guinea. Archaeological gaps make any single migration pathway difficult to establish. The safest conclusion is that the stencil is consistent with an early human presence and movement through Wallacea, while leaving the route unresolved.
What the discovery can—and cannot—tell us about its makers
- It can establish: a human-made, non-figurative image existed before the dated calcite formed.
- It can indicate: image-making traditions were present in Wallacea far earlier than the previous published minimum for Sulawesi rock art.
- It cannot establish: the artist’s species, sex, age, identity, beliefs, or intended meaning.
- It cannot establish: a specific migration route or a direct date for the pigment itself.
The Bottom Line
The Liang Metanduno hand stencil is at least 67,800 ± 3,800 years old, based on uranium-series dating of calcite that formed over it. It currently provides the oldest demonstrated minimum-age constraint for cave art, while its non-figurative form and indirect dating leave the artist, meaning, exact creation date, and migration route open to interpretation.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
