The oldest-known evidence of visual storytelling

July 4, 2024 6:24 AM

Ancient hunting scene in an Indonesian cave is the oldest-known evidence of visual storytelling. The discovery of red pigment paintings daubed on the walls of a secluded Sulawesi cave about 51,000 years ago also provides the oldest evidence of our species, Homo sapiens, in the region, according to a new study.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (2 comments total)

This is amazing, but I wish that the writer had made drawings over the photos so that the various animals and people could be more easily discerned. 51,000 years is mind-boggling! When I was a kid in the 1950s I went to Lascaux two or three times and it left an indelible memory. I just looked it up, Lascaux is around 18,000 years old. Thanks for sharing!
posted by mareli at 10:24 AM on July 4 [1 favorite]

Some figures in the paintings carry the suggestion of being a "therianthrope" — a figure that combines attributes of human and animal.

"Archaeologists are very interested in depictions of therianthropes in the archaeological record, because it provides evidence for the ability to imagine the existence of a supernatural being, something that does not exist in real life," Professor Brumm said.

Important innovations in human prehistory:

• fire
• agriculture
• the wheel
• furries

posted by gelfin at 2:21 AM on July 5 [3 favorites]