Ancient maritime voyagers carried symbolic art 4,000 years ago

A 4,000-year-old painted stone plaque discovered on a remote Indonesian island is the first known example of portable art belonging to the Austronesian Painting Tradition (APT), providing a rare glimpse into the symbolic world of some of history’s greatest maritime voyagers.

The discovery was made by an international team led by archaeologists from The Australian National University (ANU) and Indonesia’s National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) during excavations at Huknaur rockshelter on Wetar Island, eastern Indonesia.

The plaque bears a distinctive red concentric-circle and radiating “sun-ray” design characteristic of the APT – a style of rock art found across eastern Indonesia and the Western Pacific in regions where Austronesian languages are spoken.

Although APT paintings are widespread, most occur on cave and rockshelter walls and are difficult to date, leaving their chronology poorly understood. The Wetar plaque provides the first evidence that these designs were also painted on portable objects, while its securely dated archaeological context provides a rare age for this characteristic motif.

The 4,000-year-old painted stone plaque discovered on Wetar Island, Indonesia. Photo: Shimona Kealy/ANU Lead author Professor Sue O’Connor, from the ANU, said the discovery changes our understanding of how these symbols may have been used.

"This is the first portable example of Austronesian painted art ever found archaeologically,” Professor O’Connor said.

“Portable symbols could travel with people and may have helped communicate shared identities, affiliations and beliefs between island communities. Similar sun-like designs were historically painted on boats and other objects, where they could function as symbols of protection and group identity.”

Co-author Dr Simona Kealy, of the ANU, said radiocarbon dating of the archaeological deposits placed the plaque between approximately 4,090-3,900 years ago, when Austronesian-speaking peoples were rapidly dispersing into Island Southeast Asia.

“This discovery shows that the characteristic sun-ray motif was already part of the APT during the earliest Austronesian expansion into southern Wallacea,” co-author Dr Kealy said.

“These people were extraordinary seafarers, rapidly dispersing across thousands of kilometres of ocean. The Wetar plaque shows that art and shared symbolic traditions were part of this great maritime dispersal from its earliest phases.”

The plaque was found in a preceramic layer, indicating that the APT reached Wetar before pottery – one of the principal material traits traditionally used by archaeologists to trace Austronesian expansion.

ANU co-author Dr Ceri Shipton said this provides a new perspective on what the earliest Austronesian pioneers brought with them.

“This discovery shows that Austronesian pioneers arrived with a compelling ideology represented by the APT paintings, prior to more extended contacts bringing pottery,” Dr Shipton said.

“People didn’t just carry technologies and possessions when they voyaged to new islands. They carried ideas, identities, and new ways of understanding the world.”

The study, 4,000-year-old painted plaque from Southeast Indonesia reveals Austronesian Painting Tradition preceded Neolithic pottery, will be published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

FOR INTERVIEW:

Dr Ceri Shipton School of Culture, History & Language ANU College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University M: +61 49 048 3831 E: ceri.shipton@anu.edu.au

Professor Sue O'Connor School of Culture, History & Language ANU College of Asia and the Pacific The Australian National University M: +61 43 942 2543 E: sue.oconnor@anu.edu.au

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