14/02/2023
The oldest-known animal drawing in the world is a 45,500-year-old depiction of a hairy, warty pig on a cave wall in Indonesia, a new study finds.
The mulberry colored painting, drawn with the red mineral ochre, shows the profile of what is likely a Sulawesi warty pig (Sus celebensis), a wild stubby-legged beast with facial warts that can weigh up to nearly 190 pounds (85 kilograms). These pigs "are still found there today, although in ever-dwindling numbers," said study co-lead researcher Adam Brumm, a professor of archaeology at Griffith University's Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution.
The finding provides more evidence that ancient Indonesia was a hot spot for rock art, and that "the first rock art traditions probably did not arise in ice age Europe as long supposed," Brumm told Live Science in an email.
Related: Photos: Ancient rock art of Southern Africa
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In December 2017, Brumm and his colleagues found at least three warty pig drawings in Leang Tedongnge Cave, on Sulawesi, an Indonesian island that's slightly larger than Florida. This cave was in a small valley now inhabited by Bugis farmers, an enthic group in Indonesia. "There are no roads to this valley; getting there from the adjacent lowlands requires an arduous trek along a forest path that leads up into the limestone hills and ends at a narrow cave passage — this is the only entrance to the valley," Brumm said.
So, despite the valley's proximity to the large city of Makassar, "according to the people who live in this valley, no Westerners had ever set foot in the place before," said Brumm, who worked with an international team from Australia and Indonesia on the study, published online Wednesday (Jan. 13) in the journal Science Advances.
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A very hairy, warty pig that dates to at least 45,500 years ago was found in an Indonesian cave.
A very hairy, warty pig that dates to at least 45,500 years ago was found in an Indonesian cave.(Image credit: Maxime Aubert)
The rock art panel studied at Leang Tedongnge Cave.
The rock art panel studied at Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
A digitally enhanced view of the three or four pigs at Leang Tedongnge Cave.
A digitally enhanced view of the three or four pigs at Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
This big warty pig has a tiny tail.
A researcher points to the warty pig with a tiny tail.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
A researcher points to the other warty pigs on the rock panel at Leang Tedongnge Cave.
A researcher points to the other warty pigs on the rock panel at Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
The oldest known animal painting is this pig in Leang Tedongnge Cave in Indonesia.
The oldest known animal painting is this warty pig in Leang Tedongnge Cave in Indonesia.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
The outside view of Leang Tedongnge Cave.
The outside view of Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
The mouth of Leang Tedongnge Cave.
The mouth of Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
This pig, as well as the others, indicate that Indonesia was a hot spot for rock art during the Pleistocene epoch.
This pig, as well as the others, indicate that Indonesia was a hot spot for rock art during the Pleistocene epoch.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
This digitally enhanced close-up image shows the warts on the pig dating to at least 45,500 years ago.
This digitally enhanced close-up image shows the warts on the pig dating to at least 45,500 years ago.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
Digital tracings of the rock art at Leang Tedongnge Cave.
Digital tracings of the rock art at Leang Tedongnge Cave.(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
The second pig at Leang Tedongnge Cave measured 4.1 by 1.7 feet (125 by 53 cm).
The second pig at Leang Tedongnge Cave measured 4.1 by 1.7 feet (125 by 53 cm).(Image credit: AA Oktaviana)
Another warty pig at Leang Tedongnge Cave measuring 4.5 by 2.3 feet (138 by 71 cm).
Another warty pig at Leang Tedongnge Cave measuring 4.5 by 2.3 feet (138 by 71 cm).(Image credit: Basran Burhan)
Notice the two handprint by the large pig (left) and the two or three other pigs (right) on the panel.
Notice the two handprint by the large pig (left) and the two or three other pigs (right) on the panel.(Image credit: Basran Burhan)
Pigging out
Of the few pig drawings in the limestone cave, the most well-preserved one is the oldest. It shows a large pig — measuring about 4.5 by 1.8 feet (136 by 54 centimeters), with the outlines of two human hands painted above its rump. The hairy, tiny-tailed porker faces two or three other pigs, which are less well-preserved and appear to be having some kind of social interaction with the giant pig.
In a nearby cave, called Leang Balangajia 1, the team spotted an even larger painted pig on the ceiling, measuring about 6.1 by 3.6 feet (187 by 110 cm), with four stenciled hands on it. That cave chamber has at least two other animal paintings, but they are too damaged to decipher, the researchers said. A few anatomical clues hint that the rock art in both caves depicts adult male pigs — for instance, they're painted with impressive facial warts, which are larger in adult males than in females.
So, why were pigs popular subjects for the caves' artists?
Sulawesi warty pigs are unique to that island — they evolved there in isolation hundreds of thousands of years ago, Brumm said. Archaeological evidence suggests that humans hunted and even domesticated these pigs. "So, it seems clear that early humans interacted closely with this pig on various levels for a very long period of time," Brumm said. "In fact, the ice age artists of Sulawesi almost seem to have been obsessed with warty pigs, which is perhaps not surprising given their economic importance."