I thought those cave paintings in Sulawesi were overhyped...

I always rolled my eyes when people talked about the hand stencils in Indonesia being the oldest artwork. Seemed like archaeologists just wanted attention. Then I actually looked at the uranium-series dating paper from 2014 where they tested the calcite crusts. The minimum date of 39,900 years for that pig-deer scene is pretty solid evidence. So I guess I was being stubborn about something these researchers worked hard to prove. Has anyone else changed their mind on an old discovery after reading the actual study?

2 comments

2 Comments

harris.aaron25d ago

My buddy Dave was the same way about the Antikythera mechanism. He kept saying it was probably just a fancy calendar, no big deal. Then he actually sat down and read the Wright and Bromley analysis from the 90s about the gear trains. He called me up like 'dude, they figured out it calculated lunar cycles and eclipses, that thing is wild.' Changed his whole tune after that.

finleyfox25d ago

Wait, does that mean the older simpler theories were totally wrong or just missing pieces? Did they figure out exactly how far back people were tracking that stuff with it?