All articles tagged with #sulawesi
Dating of a Sulawesi hand stencil shows it is at least 67,800 years old, the oldest reliably dated cave art, implying early modern humans in Sulawesi with ties to Indigenous Australians and long-running art activity across 35,000 years, informing Sahul migration routes.
This week’s science roundup spans the world’s oldest known rock art—a 70,000-year-old Sulawesi hand stencil and a 2.6-million-year-old Paranthropus jaw—alongside the discovery of a massive sub-seafloor freshwater reservoir off the U.S. East Coast that could theoretically supply New York City for centuries, plus Earth being hit by one of the largest solar radiation storms in decades, with JWST findings continuing to upend ideas about early black holes.
Dating of 11 Sulawesi-area cave paintings places a hand stencil in Metanduno Cave on Muna Island at about 67,800 years old—the oldest known rock art. The stencil was made by pressing a hand to the wall and spraying pigment around it, suggesting modern humans traveling by dugout canoes who helped populate Sahul (New Guinea and Australia) around 65,000 years ago, with later charcoal and ocher drawings surrounding the stencil.
Archaeologists report what may be the oldest surviving artwork, a hand stencil on a Sulawesi cave wall dating to about 67,800 years ago (calcite overgrowth suggests the imprint is older). Found among 44 surveyed sites in Maros-Pangkep, Liang Metanduno’s stencil marks the earliest known modern-human presence in Wallacea and implies long-distance seafaring that could have reached Australia earlier than some estimates, highlighting a region with a deep, ongoing artistic tradition.
Dating from the Liang Metanduno cave on Sulawesi's Muna Island, hand stencils are about 67,800 years old, making them the oldest known cave art. The technique involved blowing pigment over a pressed hand, and the find suggests early Indonesians created sophisticated art long before similar European examples, with potential links to the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians.
Researchers report a red hand stencil in Sulawesi dating to about 68,000 years ago—the oldest cave art known—suggesting early symbolic behavior in Southeast Asia and challenging Europe-centered views on the origins of modern human creativity, with implications for early human migrations toward Sahul (Australia–New Guinea).
A faded hand outline in Liang Metanduno cave on Sulawesi is dated to at least 67,800 years ago via calcite overgrowth, potentially the oldest known rock art, created by spraying ochre over a hand; the find, along with other Sulawesi paintings dating to 51,200 years, supports early northern dispersal toward Sahul and suggests complex symbolic behavior by Homo sapiens, though attribution to specific hominin groups remains debated.
An ATR 42-500 turboprop operated by Indonesia Air Transport carrying 11 people vanished after losing radar contact while approaching Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport in South Sulawesi. A multi‑agency search—with air force helicopters, drones and ground teams—was launched, aided by reports of debris with an Indonesia Air Transport logo seen on Mount Bulusaraung amid clouds and about 5-mile visibility. The aircraft reportedly deviated from its planned approach and radio contact was lost.
Archaeologists at Leang Bulu Bettue in Sulawesi uncovered a 208,000-year record of human occupation, including artifacts and animal remains that show early archaic hominins living alongside Homo sapiens; a major cultural shift around 40,000 years ago introduced advanced tools and symbolic behavior, likely tied to Homo sapiens, suggesting coexistence or replacement and highlighting Sulawesi as key to understanding early human evolution; future digs may reveal even older layers.
Ancient stone tools found on Sulawesi, Indonesia, date back over 1 million years, indicating early human presence and oceanic crossing much earlier than previously thought, possibly by Homo erectus or related species, highlighting Sulawesi's significant role in human evolution.
Archaeologists discovered the oldest stone tools on Sulawesi, Indonesia, dating back over 1 million years, suggesting early human ancestors may have inhabited the island and possibly influenced the evolution of Homo floresiensis, the 'hobbit' humans. The findings raise questions about how these early humans crossed oceans and their connection to other island populations, with ongoing research aiming to uncover more fossils and understand their origins.
The discovery of in situ stone artifacts at Calio in Sulawesi, dated to at least 1.04 million years ago through palaeomagnetic and US-ESR dating, suggests that hominin presence on Sulawesi may have occurred earlier than previously thought, potentially predating the earliest known occupation on Flores and Luzon.
Researchers discovered 1 to 1.5 million-year-old stone tools on Sulawesi, Indonesia, indicating early human relatives occupied the region long before Homo sapiens, possibly related to Homo erectus or other archaic species, challenging previous assumptions about human migration and evolution in Wallacea.
Scientists have discovered the world's smallest frog with fangs, Limnonectes phyllofolia, in the Indonesian jungle of Sulawesi. Unlike its larger fanged frog relatives, this newly found species is an egg layer. The frogs were observed guarding their nests on leaves several feet off the ground, a behavior rarely seen in frogs. The male frogs coat their eggs with compounds to keep them moist and free of bacteria and fungi. This tiny frog species weighs only around two grams and has small fangs on its lower jaw. The researchers hypothesize that the smaller fang size is due to the lack of competition for egg-laying spots in waterways. Frog fangs have evolved independently at least four times across different species, with sexual selection playing a role in the size of the fangs.