United News of Bangladesh

Researchers have discovered the world’s oldest cave painting on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The painting shows a red hand with claw-like fingers and is at least 67,800 years old. The stencilled hand was found in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, southeast of Sulawesi. Scientists say the artist pressed a hand against the wall and sprayed pigment around it, then altered the fingers to create a claw-like effect. The discovery predates the previous oldest hand stencil in Spain by about 1,100 years. Experts say it shows early symbolic thinking and creativity in humans far earlier than previously believed. Professor Adam Brumm of Griffith University, Australia, said the finding challenges the idea that human creativity began in Europe. He noted that such symbolic art existed across Indonesia tens of thousands of years ago. Archaeologists say the painting also supports the theory that humans reached the Australia–New Guinea landmass, Sahul, much earlier than thought. The artists in Sulawesi likely belonged to populations that later spread across the region. Previous discoveries on Sulawesi included hand stencils and animal figures dating back 40,000 to 51,000 years. The new find shows that cave art was widespread and a long-standing cultural practice in the region. Professor Maxime Aubert, co-lead of the study, said humans had the capacity for abstract and symbolic thought long before reaching Europe, suggesting creativity was an innate trait of the species.   With in puts from BBC