We’ve got a new “oldest cave painting” ! It was discovered in Indonesia. The painting was painted life size, and it’s believed to date back to around 45,000 years ago. This painting, is now evidence which precedes what was considered to be the oldest human settlement in the region.
You ever wonder why these early human civilizations didn’t paint squirrels? Humans always like to paint the craziest animals which they have encounters with. I actually had my own encounter with a wild boar, after walking home from the train after a night of drinking with friends. I lived down a nature trail that had no lighting at night, and it was probably close to one in the morning. Off in the distance I saw what I thought was a little dog. Thinking it was lost, I walked up to it, and I was actually a bit excited to have a new pet friend. Well, as I got closer I realized it wasn’t a little dog, but a baby pig, and mommy was chilling in the tall grass right near it. The thing came at me with a viciousness and I ran and jumped on top of a tram platform vestibule thingy. I scanned the area around me as I sat perched on top of this thing in the night and saw nothing. After a few minutes I plopped down and continued home. Apprehensive of any movement or sounds around me. Boars are scary. Really. They’re a weird prehistoric monster of sorts. They don’t seem like they should still be on the planet. Their movements are odd, and their bodies seem crude.
I imagine that for the people of the Leang Tedongnge cave, which was located in a valley surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. An encounter with a wild boar would also be a memorable one. Of course, these animals were also hunted, and provided sustanance, so there was also probably a reverence for the beast as well. The area where the cave was located could only be accessed in the dry season, due to constant flooding the rest of the year. According to the Buqis community which lives nearby (about an hour from any road) the are had never been explored by any Westerners until now.
The painting itself is around 50 x 20 inches, and it was made by crushing up red ochre pigment that were most likely mixed with spit. If you look closely you can even see a few warts on him, and horns as well. Which is characteristic of the animal.
So lets think about boars for a second, and what it is about them that makes us want to paint them. Getting out of your comfort zone can always be good as an artist, and a simple way to do this is through weekly prompts where you can focus on something different every week. So make some wild boar paintings. learn about the wild pigs in your community. Where do they live? What do they do now? What are your experiences with them? Perhaps in doing so, you could learn something more about painting, but also about what it means to be human as well.
