Cave paintings in Sulawesi - 38000 BC

Jakarta (DreamLandLibrary) - The days are getting stronger, that the beginning of civilization came from the archipelago.

Original Title: Cave Painting in Sulawesi, the Oldest in the World

The hand-painted stencil found in the Maros cave, Sulawesi, is estimated to be 40,000 years old. "Nature" magazine reports on research by a team of experts from Australia and Indonesia.

During this time, hand and animal stencils on the walls of the cave that are considered the oldest are in Europe, namely in the cave of El Castillo in northern Spain, which is estimated to be 37,300 years old.

But according to the latest research, hand stencil paintings on the walls of the Maros cave in South Sulawesi are still older. The ancient inhabitants allegedly painted the hand drawing about 40,000 years ago. Thus the results of the research were conducted by a team of experts from Australia and Indonesia.

The expert team led by Anthony Dosseto from the University of Wollongong, Australia, examined seven caves in Sulawesi with 12 paintings, namely hand stencils drawn in red and drawings of babirusa animals.

These paintings have actually been discovered more than 50 years ago. But detailed research has never been done to determine its age. Previous experts thought that such paintings made in tropical climates would not last more than 10,000 years.

A new view of human evolution
The research team from Australia and Indonesia then conducted a repeat study. The latest research results in the Maros cave of Sulawesi can change the view of the history of the spread and human civilization.

The hand-painted stencil is estimated to be at least 40,000 years old, while the babirusa painting is probably more than 35,000 years old. The expert team said, this is one of the oldest animal paintings, "if not the oldest" in the world ever found.

"With this it can be proven, that humans around 40,000 years ago spread in various directions," said Anthony Dosseto. "Europe can no longer claim that they were the first to be able to develop abstract paintings."

The determination of the age of the paintings in the cave was carried out by the uranium measurement method. The calculation is based on the decay of radioactive elements. With this method, a minimum age for a painting can be determined. That means the paintings might be older.

Important discovery

Research on the age of ancient paintings in caves is considered important, because the paintings are an indicator that the painter "has the ability to think abstractly," said Thomas Sutikna, a member of the research team from the University of Wollongong.

The results of this latest research again emphasize the important role of the Asian continent in the process of human evolution. Earlier in 2003, a spectacular discovery of homo floresiensis (Flores Man) was also carried out, also known as Hobbit because of his small body.

Source: http://www.dw.de/lukis-gua-di-sulawesi-tertua-di-dunia/a-17986287

Image Source: http://www.dw.de/image/0,,17984037_303,00.jpg

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Ancient Painting from the Land of Java - 498000 BC

Original Title: Terkuak, Gambar Kuno Tertua di Dunia Berasal dari Tanah Jawa

Jakarta (DreamLandLibrary) - The oldest nicks in the world found on the shell apparently come from the land of Java, precisely from the Trinil site, Ngawi, East Java. Research published in Nature on Monday (1/12/2014) revealed it.

Josephine CA Jordens, a researcher at the Faculty of Archeology at the University of Leiden, the Netherlands, and her colleagues is the party that confirms that the incision is the oldest, dating from the period of 500,000 years ago.

Jordens is working on a research project on the use of marine resources by the ancient human species Homo erectus at the Trinil site, East Java. He then analyzed the freshwater shells of the Pseudodon vondubangchianus trinilensis species.

When analyzing, he found perforations or small holes a few millimeters wide on the surface of the shells. According to him, it was an indication that there were people at that time who tried to open the shell with sharp tools like shark teeth.

Jordens' colleagues then took a picture of the shell and examined it in more detail. Through careful observation, it is known that the surface of the shell has zig-zag-shaped nicks.

Observation under a microscope then reveals that the zigzag pattern was made intentionally. The zigzag lines, each of which are 1 cm long, are continuous, unbroken, showing that the maker is paying attention to details.

Jordens and colleagues dated the sediments contained in shells with argon and luminescence. The results of the calendar reveal that the zigzag pattern originated from 500,000 years ago, not made by Homo sapiens, but Homo erectus.

"This discovery is very spectacular and has the potential to change our perspective about Homoawal (ancient humans)," said Nick Barton, an archeologist from Oxford University who was not involved in the study.

Is the incision an art form? Jordens said, "If you don't know the purpose of someone who made it, then it's impossible to call it art."

"However, on the other hand, this is an ancient picture. This is a way to express yourself. What is the purpose of the people who made it, we do not know," Jordens said as quoted by Nature, Wednesday (12/03/2014).

Clive Finlayson, animal expert from the Museum of Gibraltar who was also involved in the study, said the most important of these findings was that early humans already had the ability to think abstractly, just like modern humans.

The shells analyzed were found by paleontologist Eugene Dubois at the Trinil site in 1896. Dubois also discovered the skeleton of Homo erectus. The skeleton and shell were then sent to the Leiden Museum in 1930.

Source: http://sains.kompas.com/read/2014/12/04/19405611/Terkuak.Gambar.Kuno.Tertua.di.Dunia.Berasal.dari.Tanah.Jawa

Image Source:

http://assets.kompas.com/data/photo/2014/12/04/1932040gambar-zig-zag780x390.jpg

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