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Rock paintings and carvings date back tens of thousands of years, predating civilizations such as Greece and Mesopotamia. Though many remain shrouded in mystery, they offer crucial insights into the daily routines, spiritual practices, and cultural shifts of early humans. It’s astonishing that these fragile, ancient artworks have endured for millennia despite erosion, conflict, and human interference.
Every year, archaeologists uncover new cave painting sites, especially in Asia, Australia, and Africa. However, as these discoveries are made, many sites face destruction from vandalism, theft, urban expansion, and natural processes like erosion. Below are some remarkable examples of cave paintings from across the globe, many of which are at risk of being lost forever.
1. EL CASTILLO, SPAIN
Wikimedia Commons // CC BY 3.0
The world's oldest known cave painting isn't an elaborate depiction of galloping horses, charging bison, or fierce warriors. Located in El Castillo, within Spain's Cantabria region, this site boasts thousands of years of prehistoric art. However, the earliest piece, found at the end of a narrow passage requiring crawling to access, is a simple red disc. Archaeologists estimate this painting to be at least 40,800 years old, created shortly after humans migrated from Africa to Europe, where they encountered Neanderthals.
Its age raises the possibility that Neanderthals, who still lived in the area, might have created this artwork. While evidence isn't definitive, some archaeologists remain skeptical about Neanderthals' ability to produce symbolic art, though the idea is increasingly accepted.
2. SULAWESI, INDONESIA
Sanjay P. K., Flickr // CC BY 3.0
For years, El Castillo was thought to house the world's oldest cave paintings. However, in 2014, a groundbreaking discovery in Indonesia shifted this narrative. On the island of Sulawesi, seven caves revealed stenciled handprints and rudimentary depictions of babirusas, fruit-eating pigs. Locals were aware of these paintings, but their age remained unknown. Scientists now estimate them to be nearly as ancient as those in El Castillo—possibly even older.
This finding challenges the traditional view that human art originated in Europe. It suggests that rock art may have developed simultaneously in Europe and Asia—or perhaps even earlier among the first modern humans who migrated from Africa.
3. ARNHEM LAND PLATEAU, AUSTRALIA
While Spain, France, and Indonesia are renowned for their ancient cave paintings, recent studies indicate that Australia may host equally old sites. Among the most impressive is Nawarla Gabarnmang in the Northern Territory, often referred to as Australia’s Sistine Chapel. The ceiling of this rock shelter, shaped by both early human ingenuity and natural forces, is adorned with elaborate animal figures.
The oldest paintings at Nawarla Gabarnmang are approximately 28,000 years old, but some could be even older. A nearby rock shelter features a depiction of the Genyornis, a giant flightless bird believed to have gone extinct 40,000 years ago. This raises questions: Is the art older than thought, or did the bird survive longer than current evidence suggests? The debate continues.
The site also showcases stunning depictions of fish, crocodiles, wallabies, lizards, turtles, and other creatures, alongside slender human figures adorned with intricate details. Unlike many global sites, the local Jawoyn tribe maintains a direct link to these ancient artworks, created by their ancestors millennia ago. They continue to inhabit their ancestral lands and possess deep knowledge of the symbolic meanings behind these paintings and others across their territory.
4. APOLLO 11 STONES, NAMIBIA
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
Discovered in a cave by a German archaeologist during NASA’s 1969 moon mission (hence the name Apollo 11), these painted stone slabs in southwestern Namibia feature charcoal, ochre, and white pigments to depict cat-like creatures, herd animals, and possibly a zebra, ostrich, or giraffe (interpretations vary). While technically paintings found in a cave rather than on its walls, they are Africa’s oldest representational art, dating back 26,000 to 28,000 years—though older sites may still await discovery.
5. PECH MERLE CAVE, FRANCE
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
The two spotted horses painted on the walls of France’s Pech Merle cave 25,000 years ago are strikingly captivating. Initially, scientists thought these images were products of imagination or spiritual visions. However, recent DNA evidence confirms that spotted horses did exist in the region during that era, suggesting the artists drew inspiration from real-life observations. Another section, painted 5,000 years later, depicts bison, mammoths, horses, and other animals using black manganese oxide and red ochre.
6. TADRART ACACUS, LIBYA
Jim Trodel, Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
In the heart of the Sahara Desert in southwestern Libya, the Tadrart Acacus region hosts thousands of paintings and carvings that reveal a starkly different past. These artworks depict a time when the area was rich with water and vegetation, home to giraffes, rhinos, and crocodiles. The oldest art here is 12,000 years old, with human figures appearing around 10,000 years ago. Paintings from 6,000 years ago document the transition from hunter-gatherer societies to pastoral lifestyles, supported by the then-lush environment.
As desertification began around 4,000 years ago, the art evolved once more. Depictions of horses and camels, animals adapted to arid environments, emerged alongside inscriptions on the rocks. By 100 CE, the region had become uninhabitable, and people abandoned it. Tadrart Acacus stands as a testament to the diverse groups who once thrived here and the profound impact of climate change and desertification on their lives.
7. BHIMBETKA, INDIA
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Madhya Pradesh is home to around 600 caves and rock shelters adorned with paintings created between 1,000 and 12,000 years ago (some potentially older). These prehistoric artworks, often rendered in red and white, offer a broad yet intimate look at hunter-gatherer life. They depict activities like hunting buffalo, tigers, giraffes, elk, lions, leopards, elephants, and rhinos, as well as the transition to herding. Scenes of fruit and honey harvesting, animal domestication, and extinct species are also present. The paintings capture communal and domestic moments, including births, deaths, hunting, food gathering, and lively dance ceremonies featuring masked figures. Most notably, they reveal how technology and artistic expression evolved over millennia.
8. LAAS GAAL, SOMALIA
joepyrek, Flickr // CC BY-SA 2.0
Laas Gaal comprises eight caves, showcasing some of the oldest rock art in the Horn of Africa, dating back 5,000 to 11,000 years. The vibrant red, orange, and cream-colored figures, characterized by elegant curves and sharp lines, depict cows adorned in ceremonial attire, alongside giraffes, dogs, jackals, and elephants. Little is known about the ancient inhabitants, but the caves remain sacred to many locals.
9. CUEVAS DE LAS MANOS, ARGENTINA
Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 3.0
This remarkable 9,000-year-old site in Patagonia features a stunning panel of red-and-black stenciled hands. While handprints are a recurring theme in prehistoric art worldwide, the sheer density of them on this cave’s rugged surface is captivating, evoking a powerful connection to the people who left their mark here millennia ago. The site also includes a hunting scene depicting guanacos (a camelid species) and the flightless rhea bird.
10. CAVE OF SWIMMERS, EGYPT
Wikimedia Commons // Public Domain
If you’ve watched the film adaptation of Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, you’ve glimpsed the art from this cave on Egypt’s Gilf Kebir plateau, hidden deep in the desert. The novel drew inspiration from explorer László Almásy, the first European to document the enigmatic human figures that seem to float or swim across the cave walls. Almásy believed these figures indicated a once-wetter climate, a theory later confirmed—though not by the paintings themselves. The true meaning of the swimming figures, along with other human forms, handprints, and an antelope hoofprint, remains unknown. Scientists estimate the art dates back 6,000 to 8,000 years.
11. MAGURA CAVE, BULGARIA
Plamen Stoev, Flickr // CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
The Magura Cave, formed 15 million years ago, is one of Bulgaria’s largest caves. Its artwork spans from 8000 BCE to 1200 BCE and is unique for being painted with bat guano. (The cave is also home to eight bat species.)
The white limestone walls of the cave are adorned with dark figures depicting hunts, dances, religious rituals, and various animals. Notably, the site includes a solar calendar that accurately tracks a 366-day year divided into 12 months.
12. VALLEGRANDE, BOLIVIA
Bolivia’s Rock Art Research Society, established nearly 30 years ago, has cataloged over a thousand sites across the country. Most cave paintings are found in the Andean region and eastern lowlands, representing thousands of years of artistic expression. Among the most striking are the thousand-year-old red mask-like designs in Vallegrande, which also feature hand stencils, abstract patterns, and animals, some potentially dating back to 6000 BCE.
13. GREAT MURAL REGION OF BAJA, MEXICO
For millennia, an enigmatic civilization documented their lifestyle in hundreds of rock shelters and cliffside caves across the Baja California peninsula. Known today as the Great Mural Region of Baja, these sites feature artwork created over 7,000 years ago, with new additions continuing until the Spanish arrival. This area boasts one of the world’s highest concentrations of rock art, depicting humans and animals vital to both physical and spiritual survival, such as deer, mountain sheep, vultures, whales, and fish. Many of these paintings are massive, exceeding 12 feet in height.
14. CHUMASH PAINTED CAVE, UNITED STATES
David Seibold, Flickr // CC BY-NC 2.0
Hidden in the Santa Ynez Mountains near Santa Barbara, Chumash Painted Cave State Park houses some of the world’s most vibrant pictographs. Created by the Chumash people, whose territory spanned from Malibu Canyon to San Luis Obispo, these paintings likely served religious purposes and remain sacred to the tribe. Using red, yellow, black, and white pigments, the artists crafted intricate designs, including sun-like circles with mandala-like patterns of lines, loops, and dots. One striking feature is a depiction of a solar eclipse, symbolized by a large black circle alongside celestial objects. Other paintings portray animals with supernatural significance, such as rattlesnakes, grizzly bears, and centipedes. These artworks, created over the past 1,000 years, reflect a deep connection to celestial and natural forces.
15. DRAKENSBERG, SOUTH AFRICA
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In South Africa and Lesotho’s Drakensberg mountains, the San (Bushmen) tribe brought prehistory to life through vivid depictions of animals and humans, created over nearly 3,000 years. One remarkable mural stretches 20 feet long, showcasing mythical creatures with intricate multicolor shading and outlines that create a three-dimensional effect. Some figures blend traits of multiple animals or combine human and animal features, symbolizing a shaman’s transformation during a trance state. These hybrid beings reflect the shaman’s journey into the spirit world and their return, often depicted with antelope eyes, ears, and markings to signify the acquisition of the animal’s spiritual power.
