TIME

First Art

At least ≈ 50,000 years ago

A reddish-brown painting of a pig on a pale limestone cave wall at Leang Tedongnge in Sulawesi, with fainter paint marks around it.

Early HumanityFirst Art

Humans paint the world.

The oldest dated scene of figurative art, at Leang Karampuang in Sulawesi, shows human-like figures and a pig and is at least 51,200 years old.

The pig shown here is from nearby Leang Tedongnge and is at least 45,500 years old. Older art may not have survived.

At least ≈ 50,000 years ago, placed on the scale of its era on a line leading toward now.

Era
Early Humanity
Period
At least ≈ 50,000 years ago
Edition
1/1
Status
Not Released
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Background artwork

Cinematic background showing a torch-lit cave wall with hand prints and an animal. An illustration generated with an AI image tool for TIME. It is an artistic depiction, not a photograph or a record of the moment. The painting is imagined and not a copy of any known cave.