Sulawesi Ancient Cave Art Listed as Greatest Science Breakthrough

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - A painting of hand print in Maros Cave, South Sulawesi, is named as one of the 2014’s top ten science breakthroughs by Journal Science. As reported by Daily Mail, Maros’ ancient hand prints is ranked on the sixth.

Archaeologists have found that the hand prints made by mouth spraying dye onto the cave wall is four times older than originally thought and may lead to the history of human culture being rewritten. Originally believed to be 10,000 years old, the prehistoric graffit were found to actually be 35,000 to 40,000 years old. The prints is estimated as old as Austromelanesoid’s first appearance in European land which was also marked with painting on caves.

Adam Brumm of Archaeological Center of Wollongong University, Australia said to Tempo that the pre-historic site in Maros shows that early modern human who inhabited Sulawesi land had been familiar with the art of drawing on rocks at about the same time with inhabitant of European land.

According to Brumm, the rock art or also known as cave art is one of representation of human’s abstract intelligence in the past. The expressed their thoughts into a painting.

Other breakthroughs listed by Journal Science are as follow:

1. Rosetta Comet Landing

2. How Dinosaurs Evolved Into Birds

3. Young Blood Makes A Real Youth Serum

4. Cooperative Robots

5. Computer Chips Like A Human Brain

6. Indonesian Cave Art

7. Manipulating Memories With Light Beams

8. Cheap Satellite

9. Expanding The Genetic Alphabet

10. Closer To A Cure For Diabetes

KHAIRUL ANAM