4,000 Years Ago, These Ancient Seafarers May Have Brought Symbolic Art to Distant Lands Earlier Than Their First Neolithic Pottery

A 4,000-year-old painted plaque found on Indonesia’s Wetar Island, part of the Austronesian maritime culture, may have carried symbolic art earlier than the development of their first Neolithic pottery. The artifact, discovered at the Huknaur rockshelter, is the first portable example of the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT) ever found archaeologically. The plaque features a red concentric circle with radiating sun rays, a motif common to the APT. Researchers from ANU and BRIN believe this artifact predates the arrival of ceramic technology in the region, suggesting some of the earliest sea voyages may have occurred between the Paleolithic and Neolithic eras.

The study highlights the Austronesian culture’s seafaring expertise, as they traveled from Easter Island to Madagascar, Taiwan, and New Zealand. The plaque’s mobility and the presence of the APT motif indicate that portable symbols could have helped communicate shared identities and beliefs between island communities. The discovery places the APT in use during the earliest phases of the Austronesian expansion into southern Wallacea, suggesting that the culture carried not only technology but also cultural and ideological elements across vast distances.

The findings challenge the conventional timeline of Austronesian pottery development, indicating that the APT was already present in the region before the arrival of ceramic technology. The plaque’s dating, based on its style and the absence of inorganic pigments, allows for a more precise understanding of when the APT was used. This suggests that the Austronesian people were not just explorers but also cultural carriers, spreading their artistic and symbolic traditions across the Pacific. The study underscores the importance of portable artifacts in tracing the spread of cultural practices and the role of art in unifying distant communities.

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