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The oldest rock art reported in the sources reviewed is a fragmentary hand stencil at Liang Metanduno on Muna Island, Indonesia. A 2026 study gives it a minimum age of 67,800 years. The researchers cannot identify its maker’s species directly, but they favor Homo sapiens—so the claim that it “might not be by humans” overstates what the evidence shows. Neanderthals and other ancient hominins would also be human relatives.
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What is the oldest painting—and what does it show?
The oldest rock-art finding reported here is not a complete painting or a scene of people and animals. It is a poorly preserved, fragmentary hand stencil at Liang Metanduno, a cave site on Muna Island in southeastern Sulawesi. The stencil was made by placing a hand against a surface and applying pigment around it.
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The 2026 study notes that one finger appears deliberately narrowed, either by adding pigment or by moving the hand as the stencil was made. That is an observation about the surviving shape; the evidence does not establish what the maker intended it to mean. The study appeared in Nature.
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How old is the stencil?
The stencil is at least 67,800 years old, according to the age constraint reported by the 2026 study. Researchers used laser-ablation uranium-series analysis to date calcite that formed over the pigment. The calcite was dated to 71,600 ± 3,800 years ago; because it accumulated after the art was made, that date sets a minimum age for the stencil beneath it. It does not give the exact date the artist applied the pigment.
That distinction matters: the paper reports an age for a mineral deposit associated with the art, then uses the relationship between deposit and pigment to constrain when the art must already have existed. The reported “at least” age is not a direct measurement of the paint itself.
Was the oldest art made by humans?
The study does not directly identify the maker’s taxon, or biological group. Its authors say there is no obvious way to determine which human taxon produced the stencil. They nevertheless favor Homo sapiens, citing the stencil’s technical and stylistic complexity and the timing of modern humans’ presence in the region.
Sulawesi was inhabited by archaic hominins before modern humans, but the paper says the timing of their presence and that of Homo sapiens is not clearly resolved. That leaves the maker’s identity uncertain; it does not establish that the stencil was made by a nonhuman being. And if “not human” is meant to mean “not Homo sapiens,” that wording is still misleading: Neanderthals and other hominins are human relatives.
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How does it compare with Sulawesi’s earlier-famous narrative art?
The Muna stencil is older than the figurative scene reported in a 2024 Nature study, but the two findings represent different kinds of art at different sites. The 2024 work concerns Maros-Pangkep in southwestern Sulawesi, not Liang Metanduno on Muna Island.
| Finding | Site and motif | Reported age | What the date supports |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 study | Liang Metanduno, Muna Island; fragmentary hand stencil | At least 67,800 years; based on overlying calcite dated to 71,600 ± 3,800 years ago | One of the oldest reported examples of rock art in the sources reviewed |
| 2024 study | Leang Karampuang, Maros-Pangkep; human-like figures interacting with a pig | Minimum age of 53,500 ± 2,300 years | Representational art and visual storytelling |
| 2024 study | Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4, Maros-Pangkep; a hunting scene | Revised minimum age of 50,200 ± 2,200 years | A separate example of narrative rock art |
The 2024 authors described the Leang Karampuang scene as the earliest surviving representational art and visual storytelling known at the time of their study. The older Muna stencil does not depict that kind of narrative scene. “Oldest rock art,” “oldest representational art,” and “oldest narrative art” are different claims, not interchangeable labels. The 2024 findings are reported in Nature.
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- Book Cover Type: Hardcover with Jacket
- Release Date: October 19, 2021
- ISBN Number: 9781683836834
- Number of Pages: 224
- Book Dimensions: 9.25 x 11 x 1 inches
What the headline gets wrong
The 2025 Daily Galaxy headline, “World’s Oldest Paintings Found—And They Might Not Be By Humans,” predates the Muna study published in January 2026. Its wording also blurs two uncertainties: the maker’s species has not been directly identified, but the study’s preferred attribution is Homo sapiens; and other hominins would still be human relatives. The newer finding supports a cautious statement about an ancient hand stencil, not a claim that its maker was nonhuman. The earlier headline is available at The Daily Galaxy.
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