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Caves around the world house some of the most remarkable and ancient forms of art ever conceived. While they may not all compare to the grandeur of the Altamira cave paintings in Spain, which famously inspired Picasso’s declaration that anything 'after Altamira is only decadence,' each one provides unique insight into the minds of our distant ancestors, even though these masterpieces were crafted tens of thousands of years ago.
These prehistoric artworks hold great significance for indigenous communities around the world, who consider them vital to their spiritual and cultural identity. They also play a crucial role in cultural tourism, contributing substantially to the economies of various countries. After recently exploring the world's oldest sculptures, we now shift our focus to the ancient cave paintings that have survived the ages.
10. Apollo 11 Cave—Namibia (25,500–27,500 Years Old)
Located approximately 160 miles (250 kilometers) southwest of Keetmanshoop in southwestern Namibia, the Apollo 11 Cave was likely named “Goachanas” by the Nama people, though the cave's true name may have been different. The German archaeologist Wolfgang Erich Wendt was excavating within the cave on July 24, 1969, when news reached him about the safe return of Apollo 11’s astronauts to Earth. In honor of the momentous event, he renamed the cave to celebrate the occasion.
Inside the cave, several of the earliest known portable artworks in southern Africa were discovered, with carbon-dating placing them between 27,500 and 25,500 years old. These artworks, commonly referred to as the Apollo 11 stones, consist of seven slabs of grey and brown quartzite. Aside from these stones, the cave also contained numerous red and white paintings, ranging from simple geometric shapes to depictions of bees—an ever-present threat to travelers in the area even today. Further ancient engravings were found along a nearby riverbank and on a large limestone boulder just outside the cave’s entrance.
9. Nawarla Gabarnmang—Australia (28,000 Years Old)
During a 2006 aerial survey of the Arnhem Land Plateau in Australia, Ray Whear, the Cultural and Environmental Manager for the Jawoyn Association Aboriginal Corporation, noticed an unusually tall rock shelter. He requested the pilot to land the helicopter for a closer inspection. Upon reaching the site, Whear and the pilot were astounded to discover a remarkable ancient gallery filled with over 1,000 paintings.
This vast rock shelter lies on Buyhmi clan land. The site was named Nawarla Gabarnmang, meaning “place of hole in the rock,” by Bardayal “Lofty” Nadjamerrek, a highly respected Aboriginal elder from Arnhem Land. Since its discovery in 2006, the artworks, which have been mapped and carbon-dated, have been confirmed as the oldest known in Australia. Hundreds of vivid human, animal, fish, and dreamlike figures grace the shelter’s roof and pillars, painted in a brilliant mix of red, orange, white, and black pigments. These intricate artworks span generations, preserving millennia of history.
8. Coliboaia Cave—Romania (32,000 Years Old)
In 2009, a team of French researchers and Romanian spelunkers uncovered 32,000-year-old artwork within the Coliboaia cave. This discovery sparked the idea that prehistoric cultures across Europe might have shared a common artistic tradition, though whether these cultures were connected remains uncertain. Before this finding, Romania was only known to have one prehistoric cave art site, Cuciulat Cave, which contained just two animal drawings. The only other cave paintings in the Far East were found in Russia’s Ural Mountains, but none of these were older than 14,000 years.
Although the Coliboaia Cave was discovered in the early 1980s, no prehistoric artwork was found during the initial explorations. The cave itself is quite difficult to explore, with many of its galleries submerged by an underground river. However, in 2009, a group of spelunkers from various Romanian spelunking clubs returned to the cave with diving equipment and managed to uncover the remarkable artwork. Most of the paintings can only be seen by floating in the water and briefly lifting one’s head above the surface. Among the findings were over half a dozen images, including a horse, two bear heads, a bison, and two rhinoceros heads, all strikingly similar to the cave art discovered in Western Europe.
7. Chauvet Cave—France (30,000 to 35,000 Years Old)
Chauvet Cave in France contains the earliest known figurative cave art in Europe, dating back over 30,000 years. Although many experts initially thought these artworks were too advanced for their time, more than 80 radiocarbon tests conducted by 2011—on items like torch marks, paintings, bone fragments, and charcoal—revealed two distinct creation periods: around 35,000 years ago and again around 30,000 years ago. A surprising discovery was that some artworks were continuously modified over millennia, helping explain the exceptional quality of some of the earlier paintings.
The cave's stunningly varied and beautifully crafted depictions of animals, both engraved and painted, were so impressive that early archaeologists assumed they were much younger, closer to the artistic style seen in caves like Lascaux. The remarkable artistry and age of the cave’s paintings have forced a reevaluation of prehistoric art and the skills of those ancient peoples. In 2014, Chauvet Cave earned UNESCO World Heritage status for its incredible significance.
6. Kapova Cave—Bashkortostan, Russia (36,000 Years Old)
In January 1959, Alexander Ryumin, a senior researcher at the Bashkir State Nature Reserve, made an exciting discovery while exploring the Kapova (Shulgantash) cave. Originally searching for bats, Ryumin stumbled upon vivid ancient artwork on the cave walls, showcasing a range of animals, including rhinos, horses, and mammoths. This find quickly became a sensation. In the 1950s, the scientific community largely believed that Paleolithic animal art was exclusive to Western Europe, particularly France and Spain. Since its discovery, Kapova cave has become a key cultural and historical site, unmatched in Eastern Europe.
One of the most intricate panels was found on the eastern wall of the cave. In the center of this composition is an image of an animal known as “Ryumin’s horse,” the first figure to be identified in the cave. Following the horse is a sequence of animals, including multiple mammoths and a rhinoceros, all appearing to move from right to left. A small mammoth is also depicted, seemingly standing or moving in another direction. On the opposite wall, a bison or bull is visible, along with several mammoths and a calf. The wall also features an unusual trapezium shape, along with other geometric patterns that appear throughout various panels in the cave.
5. Caves in the District of Maros—Indonesia (39,900 Years Old)
The caves of Sulawesi’s Maros district in Indonesia are famous for the thousands of handprints found on their walls. A 2014 study, based on uranium-thorium dating, confirmed the handprints to be at least 39,900 years old. Additionally, a recent discovery of a babirusa painting in the caves, dating back to at least 35,000 BC, places this artwork among the oldest figurative representations found anywhere in the world.
The discovery of prehistoric art on the island of Sulawesi significantly extends the geographical placement of the world’s first cave artists, who were long believed to have emerged in prehistoric Europe. Big and dangerous mammals are predominantly depicted in Europe and Sulawesi’s prehistoric cave art, leading archeologists to believe that they played a significant role in these people’s belief systems. The findings from the Maros cave sites further raise the likelihood that these types of artworks predate the migration of modern humans from Africa 60,000 years ago, leading many archeologists to believe that even older examples of cave art will eventually be found in mainland Asia and Africa.
4. Cave of El Castillo—Spain (40,000 Years Old)
Hermilio Alcalde del Río, a Spanish archaeologist, was one of the pioneers in researching and studying the earliest cave art in Cantabria. It was no surprise that he discovered El Castillo’s Cave in 1903. The entrance to the cave was initially relatively narrow but was later widened as a consequence of the numerous archaeological excavations within the cave system. Alcalde del Río discovered a lengthy series of paintings, extensive markings, and ancient graffiti created in charcoal and red ochre on the ceilings and walls of several caverns from the Lower Paleolithic Era to the Bronze Age. More than 150 artworks have already been cataloged, including those highlighting deer engravings—complete with partial shading.
According to recent studies, Neanderthals created the oldest works of art in the cave, although most of the later works were made by Homo sapiens. The studies concluded that Stone Age artists painted red disks, club-like symbols, geometric patterns, and handprints on European cave walls long before popular thought, in some instances upward of 40,000 years ago. The research results seem to point to a string of recent discoveries: significant fossil evidence that Homo sapiens lived in England 41,500 to 44,200 years ago, in Italy from 43,000 to 45,000 years ago, and that musical instruments were being made in German caves around 42,000 years ago. Scientists are also uncovering new genetic evidence of Neanderthal-Homo sapien interbreeding, revealing much closer relationships than generally believed.
3. Maltravieso Cave—Cáceres, Spain (64,000 Years Old)
The oldest confirmed cave painting in the world is a striking red hand stencil found in Maltravieso Cave in Cáceres, Spain. This stencil, along with similar artworks in the nearby caves of La Pasiega and Ardales, has captured significant attention. Recent research from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the University of Southampton has concluded that the paintings in these three caves are at least 64,000 years old, predating the arrival of modern human ancestors in Europe by 20,000 years. This confirms that Neanderthals were the creators of these Paleolithic cave paintings, which include depictions of mammals, geometric shapes, and dots.
Using an advanced technique called uranium-thorium dating, the research team confirmed the remarkable age of over 64,000 years for the artwork in these caves. The paintings, executed in black and red ochre, depict groups of mammals, geometric shapes, handprints, stencils, and engravings. The research also reveals that the creation of these works required advanced skills, such as selecting locations, mixing pigments, and planning light sources.
2. Caves in the District of Maros—Indonesia (43,900 Years Old)
The Maros-Pangkep karst caves in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, have made another entry on this list with the discovery of a painting in the Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 cave. This artwork, which is over 43,900 years old, depicts part-human, part-animal figures hunting wild boars and small bison-like mammals with ropes and spears. The painting is considered the oldest known figurative art in the world. This depiction of human-animal hybrids is believed to represent humanity’s early capacity for religious thought—a concept that has intrigued scholars for millennia.
In addition to its remarkable age, this artwork is the earliest example of cave art with a clear narrative. Traditionally, it was believed that early rock art was limited to geometric symbols, which gradually evolved into the sophisticated figurative art seen in France and Spain around 35,000 years ago. However, the paintings inside Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4 challenge this view, showing that advanced artistic elements, such as therianthropes (human-animal hybrids) and figurative storytelling, were already present in Sulawesi over 44,000 years ago.
1. Lubang Jeriji Saléh Cave—East Kalimantan, Borneo (40,000 Years Old)
A faded, weathered image of an animal painted on the wall of a cave in Borneo could be one of the oldest examples of figurative rock art ever discovered. The reddish depiction shows a mammal with thin legs, possibly a type of cattle that still roams the island today, with a streak of ochre resembling a spear jutting from its side. This animal is just one of three large creatures adorning the walls of Lubang Jeriji Saleh cave, located in Kalimantan province, Borneo, Indonesia. Since French explorer Luc-Henri Fage’s discovery of the site in 1994, thousands of paintings have been uncovered and studied in the area.
The walls of the cave are also decorated with numerous hand stencils, a classic marker of prehistoric cave art. These stencils were made by spraying ochre paint over a hand pressed against the rock, creating distinctive and captivating impressions. The artwork’s age has been determined by dating the calcite crusts that form on the cave walls. These crusts, which form when rainwater seeps into the caves, help establish a maximum age based on those below the artwork and a minimum age based on those at the higher points.
