45,500-year-old rock painting of pigs in Indonesia is the oldest-known art depicting real, recognisable objects

More than 45,500 years ago, perched on a ledge at the back of an Indonesian cave, an artist was at work.

By flickering firelight, they carefully daubed three Sulawesi warty pigs — one more than a metre long — on the limestone wall using dark red pigment, complete with distinctive facial nubs and a crest of stiff hair, features particular to the species.

Today, these and other preserved paintings have been brought to light in the journal Science Advances.

The research…