Indonesia's Liang Metanduno cave may hold a secret to human migration, with ancient hand stencils dating back over 67,800 years. The discovery, led by Prof Maxime Aubert and Prof Adam Brumm, suggests that northern Australia was settled at least 65,000 years ago.
The hand stencil, featuring narrow, pointy fingers, was created using ochre mixed with water sprayed onto a hand pressed to the cave wall. Its intentional modification has sparked debate about its symbolic meaning. While some argue it is evidence of the cognitive abilities and cultural complexity of Homo sapiens, others propose alternative explanations.
The Liang Metanduno stencil's discovery sheds light on human migration patterns, particularly from Sunda to Sahul. Researchers have long been fascinated by the northern route that traversed Sulawesi, but the exact timing remains unclear.
Archaeologists previously dated ochre wall markings in Spanish caves to at least 64,000 years ago, which is attributed to Neanderthals and Denisovans. However, the complexity of the hand stencil has sparked controversy over whether Homo sapiens were indeed behind its creation.
Prof Paul Pettitt from Durham University cautions against over-interpreting the findings, suggesting that more research is needed to determine the true meaning behind the hand stencil's pointy fingers.
The hand stencil, featuring narrow, pointy fingers, was created using ochre mixed with water sprayed onto a hand pressed to the cave wall. Its intentional modification has sparked debate about its symbolic meaning. While some argue it is evidence of the cognitive abilities and cultural complexity of Homo sapiens, others propose alternative explanations.
The Liang Metanduno stencil's discovery sheds light on human migration patterns, particularly from Sunda to Sahul. Researchers have long been fascinated by the northern route that traversed Sulawesi, but the exact timing remains unclear.
Archaeologists previously dated ochre wall markings in Spanish caves to at least 64,000 years ago, which is attributed to Neanderthals and Denisovans. However, the complexity of the hand stencil has sparked controversy over whether Homo sapiens were indeed behind its creation.
Prof Paul Pettitt from Durham University cautions against over-interpreting the findings, suggesting that more research is needed to determine the true meaning behind the hand stencil's pointy fingers.
I mean, 67,800 years old? That's like, even older than the oldest tweets 
. And that hand stencil? It's not just some Neanderthal doodle, it's a clear indication of Homo sapiens' cognitive abilities and cultural complexity.
on our side here.
.
I'm kinda fascinated by this whole thing... like, who knew there was a cave in Indonesia with a 67k+ year old hand stencil? 
It's wild to think that people were living in northern Australia way back then, and we're still trying to figure out how they got there and what it means. I mean, the pointy fingers on the hand stencil are trippy - is it just a weird coincidence or was there actually some deeper meaning behind it? 
I don't know if I should be excited about this discovery or what... but at least we're learning more about human history, right? 
with their hands. i'm not sure what to make of the pointy fingers though, is it like a super complex way of communicating or something? maybe we need more research to figure that out 
. what if these hand stencils were just like... art or something? i don't know, but it's definitely making me think about human migration patterns in a whole new way 
.
. I love how they used ochre mixed with water to create these intricate designs on the cave walls – it's like a piece of history just waiting to be deciphered 
.
. Some people think it's proof that Homo sapiens had way more cognitive abilities than we give them credit for, while others are all like "hold up, what if it was just some ancient Aussie trying to make a cool hand gesture?" 
. It's crazy to think that our ancestors were already roving around the Sahul region back in the day 
. And can we talk about how awesome it is to see archaeologists like Prof Maxime Aubert and Prof Adam Brumm leading the charge on this research 
?
. I'm all for it! We should definitely dig deeper into this find before we start drawing conclusions about what it means. Maybe then we'll really understand the significance of this ancient hand stencil 
.
. Would we see politicians scrambling to get in on the action and claim they're all about studying ancient civilizations? It's definitely possible!
. And another thing, why do all these discoveries have to be so old? Is our attention span that short? Can't we just enjoy the discovery without feeling like we need to figure out every single detail right away 
the hand stencil is definitely a mystery, but maybe that's just what makes it so fascinating? 
I can see why there's debate about what they mean but like I don't know if you guys have read other articles about how some people think our ancestors were super smart and had their own culture 
I just think it's cool how we're learning more about our history and what happened all those years ago 
and it always gets so much hype 
. maybe its just some weird cave art 
?!?!
anyway, i'm hyped to see where this research takes us and maybe we'll uncover some secrets about how our ancestors migrated across the globe