Ancient Art

July 4, 2024

51,000-Year-Old Cave Art in Indonesia Is the World’s Oldest Figurative Art

Researchers believe that they found the oldest example of figurative rock art in a cave on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. The cave art depicting three humans and a pig was painted at least 51,200 years ago. This is at least 5,000 years earlier than the previous record holder, an image of a pig discovered in a different cave on the island. A new study published in Nature details the findings. “The painting tells a complex story.

Read Article

June 23, 2024

Missing Head of Ancient Greek Statue Unearthed After 2,100 Years

Ancient Greeks immortalized their gods in many ways, but most notably in elegant, magnificent stone statues. Many of these statues survive today, whole or in pieces, and offer insight into a lost world of worship and art. Archeologists continue to discover new examples of statues in new places. Recently, archeological work in ancient Laodicea on the Lycus, now modern-day Turkey, unearthed two exciting finds.

Read Article

December 13, 2023

You Can Now Take an Immersive Virtual Tour of the Lascaux Cave Paintings

In 1940, a teenager accidentally stumbled upon a series of prehistoric paintings in southwestern France. Though eventually called the Lascaux cave, the site is actually a web of multiple caves, with art on the walls dating back to the Upper Paleolithic era (between 12,000 to 50,000 years ago). The excitement surrounding the discovery led to the cave's opening in the mid-1950s.

Read Article

My Modern Met

Celebrating creativity and promoting a positive culture by spotlighting the best sides of humanity—from the lighthearted and fun to the thought-provoking and enlightening.