According to a study published in the new issue of Nature, a cave painting on Sulawesi Island in Indonesia has been determined to date back at least 51200 years, making it the earliest reported narrative cave painting. The data for this era was estimated using a technique that was updated compared to the standard cave dating method. Prehistoric cave paintings were an important way to understand early human culture, but accurate and reliable dating of these paintings is not easy. A widely used dating technique is based on solution based uranium dating. However, this method may underestimate the true age of the artwork due to its complex rock growth history. The Griffith University team in Australia evaluated some of the oldest cave paintings in the Maros Ponggep area of southern Sulawesi using an alternative method called Laser Depleted Uranium Imaging (LA-U series). This method utilizes laser mass spectrometry coupling to analyze the small details of calcium carbonate samples, in order to calculate a more accurate age. The team first analyzed a hunting scene painting, which was dated at least 43900 years ago. Using the LA-U series method, they found that the painting was at least 4000 years earlier than previously thought. The team then applied this method to another concrete painting sample that had not been dated before, depicting the interaction between three humanoid figures and a pig. The results show that this painting was completed at least 51200 years ago, making it the earliest known concrete cave painting and the oldest narrative scene reported so far. The research findings demonstrate the long history of early human culture using concrete depictions. (Lai Xin She)