Deep inside an Indonesian cave, scientists say they’ve uncovered what could be one of the oldest human-made images ever found – a haunting handprint left nearly 70,000 years ago.
A faint, almost invisible hand stencil hidden on the wall of a cave in Indonesia is now shaking up what scientists thought they knew about the origins of art.
According to a new study published this week in Nature, the handprint – discovered inside Liang Metanduno cave on the island of Muna in Southeast Sulawesi – is at least 67,800 years old, making it one of the earliest known examples of rock art anywhere on Earth.
The artwork was literally hiding in plain sight.
Tourists have visited the cave for decades to see its more obvious paintings, many of them thousands of years old. But in 2015, researcher Adhi Agus Oktaviana noticed something unusual beneath the surface – a pale discoloration in the rock that didn’t look natural. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a hand stencil, so faded it had almost vanished into the stone.
“It was hiding in plain sight all this time,” said Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Australia and a co-author of the study.
A Hand Unlike Any Other
At first glance, the image resembles many prehistoric hand stencils found across the world – paint blown or dabbed around a human hand pressed against stone. But this one has a strange twist.
The fingers appear unusually long, sharp, and claw-like.
“They’re so pointy that it almost looks like something out of a horror movie,” Brumm said, comparing the hand to Nosferatu’s iconic claws. Similar altered hand shapes have been seen in other cave art across Sulawesi, suggesting this was not accidental.
Why ancient artists chose to distort the hand remains a mystery. Researchers believe it may have been an early attempt to transform the human form into something symbolic – perhaps spiritual, animalistic, or mythical.
How Scientists Dated the Image
The team used a technique called uranium-series dating, analyzing tiny calcium carbonate deposits that formed on top of the artwork over time. These mineral layers act like geological timestamps, revealing the minimum age of the art beneath them.
The result: the hand stencil must be at least 67,800 years old – and possibly much older.
Still, not everyone is ready to declare it the “oldest rock art in the world.”
British prehistoric art expert Paul Bahn cautioned against overhyping the find, noting that the date reflects a minimum age, not the exact moment the artwork was created. “This is simply some of the oldest such art known at present,” he said, pushing back against sensational claims.
Others, however, are more convinced. Paul Pettitt, a professor of Paleolithic archaeology at Durham University who was not involved in the study, said the dating methods “appear to be sound,” even if the precise age remains uncertain.
Who Made It?
The researchers believe the hand was most likely created by Homo sapiens, pointing to the technical skill and stylistic complexity involved – and the timing aligns closely with when modern humans are thought to have arrived in the region.
But alternative theories remain on the table.
Neanderthals are known to have made hand stencils in Europe, and some scientists suggest other ancient human relatives – including the mysterious Denisovans – could also be responsible.
“We can’t completely rule them out,” Pettitt said.
Why This Discovery Matters
Sulawesi was already famous among archaeologists. In 2019, researchers dated a dramatic cave painting on the island depicting human-animal hybrids to at least 43,900 years old — later revised to 51,200 years using improved techniques. That scene is widely regarded as the earliest known example of figurative storytelling in art.
The newly dated hand stencil may belong to the same ancient belief system, hinting that symbolic thinking — and perhaps spirituality — emerged far earlier than once believed.
The discovery also has implications far beyond Indonesia.
Scientists believe the ancestors of Aboriginal Australians migrated from Asia between 60,000 and 70,000 years ago, likely hopping across island chains that included Sulawesi. The presence of such ancient art strengthens the case that this region was a critical corridor in humanity’s earliest migrations.
“With this find,” Brumm said, “it becomes considerably more likely that this was the pathway taken by early modern humans to reach Australia.”
In other words, this ghostly hand may not just be art – it may be a signature left behind by the first humans to journey across the ancient world.
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