history
A rock painting depicting a kangaroo was discovered in a cave in northwest Australia: According to a new study, the painting is around 17,000 years old, making it the oldest on the fifth continent.
22.02.2021 17.34
Online since today, 5:34 p.m.
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In the cave in Balanggarra Country, Aborigines painted again and again, sometimes on top of each other and at different times. Accurate dating is difficult. Researchers at the University of Melbourne, together with representatives of the Aborigines, have now discovered remnants of ancient wasp nests above and below the paintings. And you can tell their age with the help of the Radiocarbon method determine well.
This enabled them to date the pictures – including mainly animals such as snakes, lizards and kangaroos. The oldest was painted between 17,500 and 17,100 years ago, like a team Damien Finch in the journal “Nature Human Behavior” reported.
The image of the kangaroo is very similar to rock paintings from Southeast Asia, which at 40,000 years are much older, say the researchers. This suggests a cultural connection – and the assumption that there could also be much older paintings in Australia.
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