World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia

 

World’s oldest known cave painting found in Indonesia

印尼發現全球最古老洞穴壁畫

【摘要2021.1.25.自由】◎陳成良

Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest known cave painting：a life-sized picture of a wild pig that was made at least 45,500 years ago in Indonesia.

考古學家發現世界上已知最古老的洞穴壁畫：一幅實物大小的野豬壁畫 ，創作於距今至少4萬5500年前的印尼。

The finding described in the journal Science Advances on Wednesday provides the earliest evidence of human settlement of the region.

《科學先端》期刊中敘述的發現，為人類曾在當地居住提供最久遠的證據。

Co-author Maxime Aubert of Australia’s Griffith University told AFP it was found on the island of Sulawesi in 2017 by doctoral student Basran Burhan, as part of surveys the team was carrying out with Indonesian authorities.

研究共同作者、澳洲格里菲斯大學考古學教授奧伯特告訴法新社，該研究團隊與印尼當局合作，團隊成員、該校博士生布爾漢2017年在印尼蘇拉威西島發現壁畫。

The Leang Tedongnge cave is located in a remote valley enclosed by sheer limestone cliffs, about an hour’s walk from the nearest road.

（壁畫所在的）「Leang Tedongnge」洞穴地處偏遠的山谷，被石灰岩懸崖包圍，走到距離最近的道路約需1小時的步行路程。

Measuring 136 by 54 centimeters the Sulawesi warty pig was painted using dark red ochre pigment and has a short crest of upright hair, as well as a pair of horn-like facial warts characteristic of adult males of the species.（AFP）

壁畫中的蘇拉威西疣豬身長136公分、寬54公分， 以暗紅赭石顏料繪製，背上有一列豎起的短鬃毛，面部還有一對角狀疣，是成年公豬的特徵。