In 2024 an international team announced the discovery of cave paintings in Sulawesi from at least 51,200 years ago, predating European cave art by over 10,000 years.

They found that the image at Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 is actually more than 4000 years older than previously thought – and the Leang Karampuang art is even older.

The Leang Karampuang painting, the researchers said, predates the cave paintings of Europe, the earliest of which is at El Castillo in Spain, dating to about 40,800 years ago.

Discoveries in Indonesia's Leang Karampuang cave unveil a 51,200-year-old masterpiece, challenging our understanding of ancient storytelling. This prehistoric artwork, depicting human-bird hybrids ...

The newly described painting is located in the limestone cave of Leang Karampuang in the Maros-Pangkep region of Sulawesi, an Indonesian island.

The researchers dated the painting at Leang Karampuang to 51,200 years ago. The painting depicted a scene with three human-like figures interacting with a wild pig.