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Faces of the ancestors revealed: discovery and dating of a Pleistocene-age petroglyph in Lene Hara Cave, East Timor

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Sue O'Connor ,
Ken Aplin ,
Emma St Pierre  and
Yue-xing Feng
Sue O'Connor
Affiliation:
Archaeology and Natural History, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia (Email: [email protected])
Ken Aplin
Affiliation:
Australian National Wildlife Collection, CSIRO Division of Sustainable Ecosystems, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia
Emma St Pierre
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australi
Yue-xing Feng
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australi
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Abstract

A petroglyph showing a human face found in East Timor is dated to the late Pleistocene. It recalls ancient Australian forms and raises the possibility of connecting early cave art with the better known painted figures of Lapita/Austronesian art ten millennia later. This new discovery at a known cave shows what precious evidence still lies in store even in well-trodden places.

Keywords

Southeast AsiaEast Timorrock artpigmentpetroglyphAustronesiansLapitahuman facePleistocene art
Type
Research
Information
Antiquity , Volume 84 , Issue 325 , September 2010 , pp. 649 - 665
Copyright
Copyright © Antiquity Publications Ltd 2010

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