Overview
- The fragmentary hand stencil was documented in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island in Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia.
- Researchers dated overlying calcium-carbonate crusts using uranium-series methods to yield a minimum age, meaning the artwork could be older than 67,800 years.
- The result, published in Nature, surpasses previous minimum-age constraints for cave art, including a Neanderthal-attributed hand stencil in Spain and earlier Sulawesi finds.
- The stencils were produced by blowing ochre over hands pressed to the wall, and some show intentionally narrowed or elongated fingertips.
- Study authors say the maker—whether Homo sapiens, Denisovans, or another group—remains unresolved, and they plan further surveys and dating to search for even older examples.