Scientist questions dating of world’s oldest cave art and Neanderthal paintings

A debate over the dating of prehistoric cave art has resurfaced after a French researcher challenged several widely publicized age estimates linked to some of the world’s oldest known paintings and hand stencils. The criticism focuses on uranium-thorium dating, often called U-Th dating, a method used to...

More info: https://archaeologymag.com/2026/05/scientist-questions-dating-of-worlds-oldest-cave-art/

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#archaeology #neanderthal #caveart

‘They take you out of life, out of time’: a journey into Spain’s astonishing cave paintings

The long read: For tens of thousands of years, these Palaeolithic artworks were unseen. When they were rediscovered, onlookers marvelled at their vivid beauty. One of the world’s leading experts took me up close

The Guardian
Eleven parallel lines in red haematite on a Welsh cave wall, dismissed as a natural seep since 1928, have now been dated to ~17,100 years old. Bacon Hole is Britain’s oldest cave art. #Palaeolithic #CaveArt #Archaeometry https://www.anthropology.net/p/eleven-lines-in-a-welsh-cave
Eleven Lines in a Welsh Cave

The red marks in Bacon Hole were dismissed as a natural phenomenon almost a century ago. New dating puts them at 17,000 years old.

Anthropology.net
Cave art sun shower curtain; pictograph solar symbol; primal nature decor by EternalArt on Etsy: eternalart.etsy.com/listing/6403... #showercurtain #bathroomreno #bathdecor #caveart #pictograph #primal #symbol
Imagine being the first modern person to stumble upon this ancient art after millennia. #CaveArt https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260322020300.htm
This 67,800-year-old handprint is the oldest art ever found

Researchers have uncovered the world’s oldest known cave art—a 67,800-year-old hand stencil in Indonesia. The unusual, claw-like design hints at early symbolic thinking and possibly spiritual beliefs. This discovery also strengthens the case that humans reached Australia at least 65,000 years ago. It offers rare insight into the creative lives of some of our earliest ancestors.

ScienceDaily

67,800-Year-Old Hand Stencil in Sulawesi Cave Dated as World's Oldest Known Rock Art

📰 Original title: This 67,800-year-old handprint is the oldest art ever found

🤖 IA: It's clickbait ⚠️
👥 Usuarios: It's clickbait ⚠️

View full AI summary: https://killbait.com/en/67800-year-old-hand-stencil-in-sulawesi-cave-dated-as-worlds-oldest-known-rock-art/?redirpost=de83d92b-62c4-469e-a4e7-486c4e4ce32e

#archeology #caveart #sulawesi #humanmigration

67,800-Year-Old Hand Stencil in Sulawesi Cave Dated as World’s Oldest Known Rock Art

Researchers from Griffith University, Indonesia’s BRIN, and Southern Cross University have identified a hand stencil in Liang Metanduno cave on Muna Island, southeastern Sulawesi, Indonesia…

KillBait Archive
A century-old assumption about Dordogne cave art just collapsed. The paintings were thought to contain no carbon — so radiocarbon dating was never possible. Turns out no one had actually checked. #Paleolithic #CaveArt #Archaeology https://www.anthropology.net/p/carbon-in-the-dark-the-first-radiocarbon
Carbon in the Dark: The First Radiocarbon Dates for Cave Art in the Dordogne

A team at Font-de-Gaume found something no one had bothered to look for — and it changed what we can know about Paleolithic painting in southwestern France.

Anthropology.net

"67,800 Years Old: World’s Oldest Rock Art Discovered in Indonesia"

Am I alone in seeing a guy in a crop-top & ski-goggles on the right riding a giant crab while waving a flaming chainsaw chasing a small T-rex on the left? 🤔

https://scitechdaily.com/67800-years-old-worlds-oldest-rock-art-discovered-in-indonesia/

#Archeology #CaveArt #Ancient #Science

Reevaluating Hand Stencil Phenomena in Cave Art: A Step Forward towards the Characterization of Symbolic Patterns during the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe | Cambridge Archaeological Journal | Cambridge Core

Reevaluating Hand Stencil Phenomena in Cave Art: A Step Forward towards the Characterization of Symbolic Patterns during the Upper Palaeolithic in Europe

Cambridge Core

Reevaluating Hand Stencil Phenomena in Cave Art: A Step Forward towards the Characterization of Symbolic Patterns during the Upper #Palaeolithic in Europe.
Palaeolithic art offers a unique window into understanding prehistoric societies. Thus, the iconography, techniques and stylistic features of the Upper Palaeolithic form the basis of research and are potentially valuable sources of information about cultural and knowledge exchange networks.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/cambridge-archaeological-journal/article/reevaluating-hand-stencil-phenomena-in-cave-art-a-step-forward-towards-the-characterization-of-symbolic-patterns-during-the-upper-palaeolithic-in-europe/E867DBB1487323B415E401E3CCEF2042 #globalmuseum #caveart