Overview
- An international team working at Liang Metanduno on Muna Island, Sulawesi, dated a faint hand stencil to at least 67,800 years using uranium‑series analysis of mineral crusts above the pigment.
- The image features intentionally narrowed, claw‑like fingers, a stylistic trait reported as unique to Sulawesi and seen in other stencils across the region.
- Researchers say the finding supports a long chronology for the peopling of Sahul and provides the oldest direct evidence of modern humans along the northern migration corridor.
- The cave shows repeated art‑making over an exceptionally long span, with paintings produced for at least 35,000 years and continuing until around 20,000 years ago.
- External specialists welcome the result but stress that uranium‑series dates are minimum ages that do not time the painting event itself, urging further archaeological corroboration.