Skip to content
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Menu
  • Happy Health
  • Happy Mindset
  • Animal Wonders
  • About Us
    • Team
  • Subscribe
Happy News

Ancient Handprints Found To Be The Oldest Known Art On Earth

Somewhere on the limestone walls of a cave on the island of Sulawesi in Indonesia, a human hand was pressed against stone more than 67,800 years ago and traced in pigment, leaving behind what is now confirmed as the oldest known piece of art ever created by our species. An international team led by researchers from Griffith University used uranium-series dating to analyze mineral layers formed over and beneath the artwork, establishing a minimum age that beats the previous record in the same region by at least 15,000 years. The stencil has an unusual and striking quality: the outlines of the fingers appear to have been intentionally narrowed after the original image was made, giving the hand a distinctive claw-like appearance that researchers believe may reflect early symbolic thinking about the relationship between humans and animals. Nearby paintings in the same cave show figures interpreted as part-human, part-animal beings, suggesting that whoever pressed their hand to this wall was already thinking in richly symbolic ways.

The discovery carries implications that reach well beyond the cave itself. Scientists have long debated exactly when the ancestors of Australia’s Indigenous peoples first arrived on the ancient landmass known as Sahul, which once connected present-day Australia, Tasmania and New Guinea. The researchers say this finding strongly supports the idea that those early travelers were in the region by at least 65,000 years ago, following a northern migration route through Sulawesi toward New Guinea. Artistic activity in the same cave continued for at least 35,000 years after this first handprint was made, suggesting the site was home to one of the longest-running artistic traditions ever documented. Published in Nature, the finding stands as one of the most profound recent windows into our shared human story: someone, nearly 68,000 years ago, pressed their hand to a cave wall and chose to leave their mark.

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/03/260322020300.htm

PrevPreviousPen Pals Evolved, How Sending A Letter Is Changing Lives
NextPaid Leave Access Expands To Millions of AmericansNext

Recent Articles

Happy News

Eating Eggs Regularly May Cut Alzheimers Risk By Up To 27 Percent

May 9, 2026

A new study from Loma Linda University Health has found that adults 65 and older who eat eggs regularly have a significantly lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, with people who consumed at least one egg per day for five or more days a week showing up to a 27

Read More
Happy News

Birdwatching Among Gen Z In Britain Has Grown By Over 1000 Percent Since 2018 And The Reasons Why Are Beautiful

May 8, 2026

Birdwatching has quietly become one of the fastest-growing hobbies among young people in Britain, with new research from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds finding that nearly 750,000 people aged 16 to 29 now birdwatch regularly, a staggering increase of more than 1,000 percent since 2018. The study

Read More
Happy News

Meet The Record Holders Who Prove That Age Is Genuinely Just A Number

May 8, 2026

Guinness World Records has published a new feature celebrating some of the most extraordinary older athletes on the planet, a collection of record holders that makes a compelling case that age really is just a number. Leading the group is Mathea Allansmith of Hawaii, born in 1930, who took up

Read More
« Previous Next »
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Privacy Notice
  • Accessibility Notice
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Unsubscribe
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2026 HappyNews.