Prehistoric 'popcorn'

Adam Brumm, an archaeologist at Australia's University of Wollongong, first noticed

small cauliflowerlike knobs on some of the hand stencils while doing research in
Sulawesi in 2011. These crusty bumps were actually calcite deposits known as coralloid
speleothems or, more informally, "cave popcorn." The deposits contain tiny amounts of
radioactive uranium, which decays to thorium over time. By measuring the ratio of
uranium to thorium in the layers of cave popcorn, scientists can determine the
minimum age of underlying artwork.

Aubert and his colleagues determined the age of 14 paintings inside seven caves. The
artworks range in age from 17,400 years old to 39,900 years old, the study found. But
since uranium dating of the cave popcorn layer that grew on top of the art only provides
a minimum age, these paintings could be much older, the researchers said. The findings
were published today (Oct. 8) in the journal Nature. [The Top 10 Mysteries of the First
Humans]

The oldest painting — a hand stencil — was discovered on a 13-foot-high (4 meters)

ceiling in a cave known as Leang Timpuseng in Sulawesi's southwestern peninsula. The
researchers say this is now the earliest known example of a hand stencil, and it also
represents the earliest evidence for a human presence on Sulawesi.

In the same cave, a painting of a babirusa was found to be at least 35,400 years old. That
means this pig-deer could be the oldest known figurative work of art in the world —
older than the beasts that line the walls of Chauvet Cave.