Curious, he approached it—and upon entering the cave, he found the paintings. “The first reaction was concern. I had never seen a cave painting before, so I didn’t know what it was.

“This shows the tradition does not have its origins in Europe.” In fact, Sulawesi alone has now yielded more than 240 cave sites with rock art, many dating older than Europe’s Ice Age masterpieces.

Finger paintings made by children in Rouffignac Cave, 14,000 to 20,000 years ago. (Credit: Dr. Van Gelder) Paleolithic children weren’t merely learning to become adults but may have had their own ...

New research suggests prehistoric children weren’t just along for the ride—they may have played powerful spiritual roles deep within ancient caves, leaving behind sacred art that still speaks today.

A paper recently published in Arts, a journal from MDPI, presents an innovative interpretation of children’s presence at cave art sites. The study proposes that small children were believed to serve a ...

Get Instant Summarized Text (Gist) Children's involvement in prehistoric cave art may have extended beyond education, serving a unique cultural role. Evidence suggests children as young as two ...

The researchers explain: “Next to many cave paintings, there is clear evidence of the presence of children as young as two years old. So far, most hypotheses have focused on the educational ...