SULAWESI, A NEW ORIGIN STORY

For a long time, art was believed to have emerged in Europe around 40,000 years ago. But recent discoveries on the island of Sulawesi, in the Indonesian archipelago, are overturning everything we thought we knew.

In Sulawesi’s caves, archaeologists have uncovered a wealth of figurative rock paintings. Thanks to cutting-edge technology, they’re able to push back the dating further and furth – 45,000 years, 50,000 years… One discovery surpasses everything previously imagined: a negative hand stencil on the walls of the Liang Metanduno cave, at least 68,700 old – the oldest painting in the world! An extraordinary revelation that transforms our understanding of the evolutionary history of Homo sapiens.

With rare, behind-the-scenes access to these cave paintings and alongside leading international experts – including archaeologists Maxime Aubert (Canada), Adhi Agus-Oktaviana (Indonesia) and Adam Brumm (Australia), this documentary takes viewers inside the scientific breakthroughs that are redefining the origins of art.