An ochre hand stencil discovered in a cave on Indonesia’s Sulawesi island has been dated to at least 67,800 years ago, making it the world’s oldest known cave painting, The Telegraph reported.

Axar.az reports that the find predates the previous record-holder — a Neanderthal hand stencil in Spain — by more than 1,000 years. Researchers say the image was created by spraying pigment around a hand pressed to the cave wall, later altering the fingers to appear elongated and claw-like.

Scientists dated the artwork by analysing calcium carbonate deposits that formed over the painting. Because the mineral layer developed after the stencil was made, the artwork could be even older than estimated.

The discovery challenges the long-held Eurocentric view that artistic expression began in Ice Age Europe and then spread elsewhere. Instead, it suggests that creativity emerged independently in multiple regions.

Researchers also say the finding strengthens theories that modern humans reached Australia earlier than previously believed — possibly more than 65,000 years ago — since people were already producing sophisticated art in the region nearly 70,000 years ago.

The discovery adds to growing evidence from Africa and Southeast Asia that early symbolic and artistic behavior was not confined to Europe.