The global implications of the early surviving rock art of greater Southeast Asia

Paul Tacon, Noel Tan, Susan O'Connor, Ji Xueping, Li Gang, Darren Curnoe, Budianto Hakim, Francis Bulbeck, Iwan Sumantri, Heng Than, Im Sokrithy, Stephen Chia, Khuon Khun‑Neay, Soeung Kong

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticle

    Abstract

    The rock art of Southeast Asia has been less thoroughly studied than that of Europe or Australia, and it has generally been considered to be more recent in origin. New dating evidence from Mainland and Island Southeast Asia, however, demonstrates that the earliest motifs (hand stencils and naturalistic animals) are of late Pleistocene age and as early as those of Europe. The similar form of the earliest painted motifs in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia suggests that they are the product of a shared underlying behaviour, but the difference in context (rockshelters) indicates that experiences in deep caves cannot have been their inspiration.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1050-1064
    JournalAntiquity
    Volume88
    Issue number342
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2014

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'The global implications of the early surviving rock art of greater Southeast Asia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this