Which country is home to the world's oldest known cave paintings?

Indonesia is home to the oldest known figurative cave paintings. In 2021, researchers dated a life-sized depiction of a Sulawesi warty pig in Leang Tedongnge cave on Sulawesi to at least 45,500 years ago. The painting is therefore among the earliest known examples of humans depicting a recognizable animal.

The discovery changed the geographic picture of early cave art, which had often focused on famous European sites such as Chauvet and Altamira. The Sulawesi image was made with red ochre and appears alongside other ancient markings. Dating cave art is difficult because the pigment itself may not contain material suitable for direct testing, so researchers often date mineral deposits that formed over the artwork.

Indonesia’s Maros-Pangkep region contains many limestone caves with ancient paintings and hand stencils. The record can change as new discoveries are dated, but Leang Tedongnge remains a crucial site in the study of early human symbolic culture.