Deep in the limestone caves of Sulawesi, Indonesia, early humans created some of the world’s oldest art 39,900 years ago. By processing red ochre and blowing it over their hands to form stencils, they proved complex artistic expression wasn’t exclusive to Europe, representing a universal milestone in human consciousness.
The human presence on the island dates back at least 40,000 years, to the oldest homo sapiens migrations out of Africa.
The discovery of 42,000-year-old shell hooks in East Timor provides the first definitive proof that early humans had mastered deep-sea fishing. By targeting open-ocean species like tuna, these ancient mariners demonstrated a level of technological ingenuity and planning depth that transformed the ocean from a barrier into a vital highway for global expansion.
Evidence indicates the presence of Aborigines in Tasmania about 40,000 years ago. Rising sea levels cut Tasmania off from mainland Australia about 10,000 years ago and by the time of European contact, the Aboriginal people in Tasmania had nine major nations, or ethnic groups
Discovered in 1939 at the Hohlenstein-Stadel cave in Germany, the 40,000-year-old “Lion-man” is the Aurignacian culture’s masterpiece. This ivory figure, requiring 400 hours to carve, proves early humans possessed the abstract imagination to create supernatural beings, marking the dawn of complex symbolism and mythology.
The 42,000-year-old cremation of “Mungo Lady” at Lake Mungo, Australia, marks a pivotal moment in human history. As the world’s oldest known ritual cremation, it provides powerful evidence that early humans possessed complex spiritual beliefs and abstract thought, transforming death from a biological event into a profound cultural rite.
According to the field of genetic genealogy, people first resided in Siberia by 45,000 B.C.E. and spread out east and west to populate Europe and the Americas.
Early humans traveled by sea and spread from mainland Asia eastward to New Guinea and Australia. Homo sapiens reached the region by around 45,000 years ago.
The oldest remains of modern humans in the islands, however, is the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to 47,000 ± 11–10,000 years ago. The Tabon man is presumably a Negrito, who were among the archipelago’s earliest inhabitants, descendants of the first human migrations out of Africa.
