Palaeolithic cave art in Borneo

• M. Aubert,
• P. Setiawan,
• A. A. Oktaviana,
• A. Brumm,
• P. H. Sulistyarto,
• E. W. Saptomo,
• B. Istiawan,
• T. A. Ma’rifat,
• V. N. Wahyuono,
• F. T. Atmoko,
• J.-X. Zhao,
• J. Huntley,
• P. S. C. Taçon,
• D. L. Howard &
• H. E. A. Brand 

Nature (2018) | Download Citation 

Pinturas rupestres figurativas da ilha indonésia de Sulawesi datam de pelo menos 35.000 anos atrás (ka) e arte de estêncil de mão da mesma região tem uma data mínima de 40 ka1. Aqui mostramos que arte rupestre semelhante foi criada durante essencialmente o mesmo período de tempo na ilha adjacente de Bornéu.   A análise da série de urânio dos depósitos de carbonato de cálcio que cobrem uma grande pintura figurativa laranja avermelhada de um animal em Lubang Jeriji Saléh - uma caverna de calcário em Kalimantan Oriental, Bornéu indonésio - rendeu uma data mínima de 40 ka, que para nosso conhecimento é atualmente a data mais antiga para obras de arte figurativas de qualquer lugar do mundo. Além disso, dois estênceis de mão laranja-avermelhada do mesmo local produziram uma data mínima de 37,2 ka na série de urânio, e um estêncil de terceira mão do mesmo matiz tem uma data máxima de 51,8 ka.

Também obtivemos determinações em série de urânio para motivos de arte rupestre de Lubang Jeriji Saléh e outras três cavernas cársticas de Kalimantan Oriental, que nos permitem restringir a cronologia de uma fase distinta e mais jovem da produção de arte rupestre do Pleistoceno nessa região. Estênceis de roxo escuro, alguns dos quais são decorados com motivos intricados, datam de 21 a 20 ka e uma representação rara do Pleistoceno de uma figura humana - também colorida de roxo escuro - tem uma data mínima de 13,6 ka.

Nossas descobertas mostram que a pintura rupestre apareceu no leste de Bornéu entre 52 e 40 ka e que um novo estilo de arte parietal surgiu durante o Último Máximo Glacial. É agora evidente que uma importante província de arte rupestre do Paleolítico existia na extremidade leste da Eurásia continental e no Wallacea adjacente de pelo menos 40 ka até o Último Máximo Glacial, o que tem implicações para entender como as primeiras tradições da arte rupestre emergiram, se desenvolveram e se espalharam Pleistoceno Sudeste Asiático e mais longe.

Figurative cave paintings from the Indonesian island of Sulawesi

date to at least 35,000 years ago (ka) and hand-stencil art from

the same region has a minimum date of 40ka

1

. Here we show that

similar rock art was created during essentially the same time period

on the adjacent island of Borneo. Uranium-series analysis of calcium

carbonate deposits that overlie a large reddish-orange figurative

painting of an animal at Lubang Jeriji Saléh—a limestone cave in

East Kalimantan, Indonesian Borneo—yielded a minimum date

of 40ka, which to our knowledge is currently the oldest date for

figurative artwork from anywhere inthe world. In addition, two

reddish-orange-coloured hand stencils from the same site each

yielded a minimum uranium-series date of 37.2ka, and a third hand

stencil of the same hue has a maximum date of 51.8ka. We also

obtained uranium-series determinations for caveart motifs from

Lubang Jeriji Saléh and three other East Kalimantan karst caves,

which enable us to constrain the chronology of a distinct younger

phase of Pleistocene rock art production in this region. Dark-

purple hand stencils, some of which are decorated with intricate

motifs, date to about 21–20ka and a rare Pleistocene depiction of a

human figure—also coloured dark purple—has a minimum date of

13.6ka. Our findings show that cave painting appeared in eastern

Borneo between 52 and 40ka and that a new style of parietal art

arose during the Last Glacial Maximum. It is now evident that a

major Palaeolithic caveart province existed in the eastern extremity

of continental Eurasia and in adjacent Wallacea from at least

40ka until the Last Glacial Maximum, which has implications for

understanding how early rock art traditions emerged, developed and

spread in Pleistocene Southeast Asia and further afield.

Since the 1990s, thousands of rock art images have been documented

in the karst caves of the Sangkulirang–Mangkalihat Peninsula in East

Kalimantan, a province in the Indonesian portion of Borneo

2–11

(P.S.,

unpublished observations) (Fig.1). This remote and difficult-to-access

region contains 4,200km

2

of karst outcrops

9,12

that are formed of late

Eocene to early Pliocene limestone

13

. The karst terrain is character-

ized by densely forested mountain chains and towering cliffs that reach

heights of several hundred metres. The Sangkulirang–Mangkalihat

Peninsula is adjacent to the edge of the Sunda Shelf—a continental

shelf that descends to about 2,500m in depth—and therefore even

during low sea-level stands in the Pleistocene, the karsts were situated

essentially at the southeastern tip of Eurasia (Fig.1). Fifty-two rock

art sites have been recorded in eight different karst mountain areas

between the Berau and East Kutai districts, spanning a distance of about

100km. The art is often found in remote, high-level caves that contain

little other evidence of human habitation. Few sites in the region have

been excavated; the oldest published archaeological remains date to

19,761 ± 87years before present (, taken as 1950; an uncalibrated

accelerator mass spectrometry

14

C date on charcoal)

14

. Previous ura

-

nium-series (U-series) and

14

C dating of a cave drapery that overlies a

hand stencil at Lubang Jeriji Saléh suggested a minimum date of about

10ka for this motif

15

(Supplementary Information).

On the basis of the superimposition of different styles, the rock art

of the Sangkulirang–Mangkalihat Peninsula comprises at least three

chronologically distinct phases

9

. The oldest style is characterized by

large in-filled, reddish-orange-coloured paintings of animals—mainly

the Bornean banteng (Bos javanicus lowi), a type of wild cattle that

is still extant on the island (Extended Data Fig.1), but also includes

what may be now-extinct taxa

16

as well as hand stencils produced

using pigment of the same distinctive hue (Extended Data Fig.1).

The second phase is dominated by hand stencils that are dark purple

(‘mulberry’) in colour, which are often clustered into distinct composi-

tions (Extended Data Fig.1). Many of these stencils are partly in-filled

with painted lines, dashes, dots and small abstract signs that possibly

represent tattoos or other marks of social identification, and in some

instances hand stencils are linked together by painted mulberry lines

that form intricate tree-like motifs, which perhaps symbolize kinship

connections. Some older reddish-orange hand stencils appear to have

been ‘retouched’ with mulberry paint to create similar in-filled designs

and tree-like motifs (Extended Data Fig.1). This phase also features

small, carefully executed mulberry-coloured paintings of anthropo-

morphs (Extended Data Fig.2). These elegant, thread-like human

figures—henceforth, ‘Datu Saman’following the established term for

this style

6

—are sometimes shown in small groups, and are usually

portrayed with elaborate headdresses and an array of other objects of

material culture that includes possible spear throwers. Some figures

are depicted in narrative scenes as hunting or pursuing small deer or as

engaged in enigmatic social or ritual activities (for example, ‘dancing’;

Extended Data Fig.2). The final rock art phase is characterized by

anthropomorphs, boats and geometric designs that are usually exe-

cuted in black pigments (Extended Data Fig.1). This rock art style is

the only one that has thus far been documented elsewhere in Borneo;

it is found at other locations in Indonesia and may be associated with

the movement of Asian Neolithic farmers into the region from about

4ka, or more recently

17,18

.