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dc.contributor.authorLangley, Michelle C
dc.contributor.authorHakim, Budianto
dc.contributor.authorOktaviana, Adhi Agus
dc.contributor.authorBurhan, Basran
dc.contributor.authorSumantri, Iwan
dc.contributor.authorSulistyarto, Priyatno Hadi
dc.contributor.authorLebe, Rustan
dc.contributor.authorMcGahan, David
dc.contributor.authorBrumm, Adam
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-15T01:35:40Z
dc.date.available2020-07-15T01:35:40Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.identifier.issn2397-3374
dc.identifier.doi10.1038/s41562-020-0837-6
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10072/395406
dc.description.abstractThe ability to produce recognizable depictions of objects from the natural world—known as figurative art—is unique to Homo sapiens and may be one of the cognitive traits that separates our species from extinct hominin relatives. Surviving examples of Pleistocene figurative art are generally confined to rock art or portable three-dimensional works (such as figurines) and images engraved into the surfaces of small mobile objects. These portable communicative technologies first appear in Europe some 40 thousand years ago (ka) with the arrival of H. sapiens. Conversely, despite H. sapiens having moved into Southeast Asia–Australasia by at least 65 ka, very little evidence for Pleistocene-aged portable art has been identified, leading to uncertainties regarding the cultural behaviour of the earliest H. sapiens in this region. Here, we report the discovery of two small stone ‘plaquettes’ incised with figurative imagery dating to 26–14 ka from Leang Bulu Bettue, Sulawesi. These new findings, together with the recent discovery of rock art dating to at least 40 ka in this same region, overturns the long-held belief that the first H. sapiens of Southeast Asia–Australasia did not create sophisticated art and further cements the importance of this behaviour for our species’ ability to overcome environmental and social challenges.
dc.description.peerreviewedYes
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherNature Publishing Group
dc.relation.ispartofpagefrom597
dc.relation.ispartofpageto602
dc.relation.ispartofissue6
dc.relation.ispartofjournalNature Human Behaviour
dc.relation.ispartofvolume4
dc.subject.fieldofresearchEnvironmental sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchBiomedical and clinical sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchHealth sciences
dc.subject.fieldofresearchPsychology
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode41
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode32
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode42
dc.subject.fieldofresearchcode52
dc.subject.keywordsSocial Sciences
dc.subject.keywordsScience & Technology
dc.subject.keywordsLife Sciences & Biomedicine
dc.subject.keywordsPsychology, Biological
dc.subject.keywordsMultidisciplinary Sciences
dc.titlePortable art from Pleistocene Sulawesi
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.descriptionC1 - Articles
dcterms.bibliographicCitationLangley, MC; Hakim, B; Oktaviana, AA; Burhan, B; Sumantri, I; Sulistyarto, PH; Lebe, R; McGahan, D; Brumm, A, Portable art from Pleistocene Sulawesi, Nature Human Behaviour, 2020, 4 (6), pp. 597-602
dcterms.dateAccepted2020-02-12
dc.date.updated2020-07-15T01:34:32Z
gro.hasfulltextNo Full Text
gro.griffith.authorLangley, Michelle C.
gro.griffith.authorBrumm, Adam R.


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