40,000-Year-Old Asian Cave Paintings Shock Archaeologists: Reconsidering History

Ancient cave drawings in Indonesia are as old as famous prehistoric art in Europe, according to a new study that shows our ancestors were drawing all over the world 40,000 years ago.

Stencils of hands in a cave in Indonesia. Ancient cave drawings in Indonesia are as old as famous prehistoric art in Europe, according to a new study that shows our ancestors were drawing all over the world 40,000 years ago. And it hints at an even earlier dawn of creativity in modern humans than scientists had thought. AP Photo/Kinez Riza, Nature Magazine

WASHINGTON—Ancient cave drawings in Indonesia are as old as famous prehistoric art in Europe, according to a new study that shows our ancestors were drawing all over the world 40,000 years ago.

And it hints at an even earlier dawn of creativity in modern humans than scientists had thought.