World's Oldest Art

Main A-Z Index

List of the World's Oldest Art

1. Trinil Shell Engravings
   (540,000-430,000 BC)
   Java, Indonesia
   The shell is marked by a zigzag pattern, scratched by Homo erectus.


2. Bilzingsleben Engravings (350,000 BC)
   Thuringia, Germany
   Elephant shin bone incised with 14 parallel lines by Neanderthal or H. heidelbergensis engraver


3. Venus of Berekhat Ram (230,000 BC)
   Retouched basalt manuport
   Golan, Israel


4. Auditorium Cave Cupules
   (200,000-500,000 BC)
   Bhimbetka
   Madhya Pradesh, India.


5. Daraki-Chattan Cupules
   (200,000-500,000 BC)
   Indragarh Hill, Bhanpura
   Madhya Pradesh, India.


6. Venus of Tan-Tan (200,000 BC)
   Retouched quartzite manuport
   Tan-Tan, Morocco
   Possibly the oldest art in Africa.


7. Bruniquel Cave Structures
   (175,000 BC)
   Neanderthal constructions
   Montauban, France


8. Quesang Handprints
   (167,000 BC)
   World's oldest handprints
   Quesang, Tibet


9. Krapina Eagle Jewellery (130,000 BC)
   Neanderthal necklaces
   from eagle claws.
   Hušnjakovo Hill, Croatia


10. Los Aviones Cave Jewellery (113,000 BC)
    Neanderthal shell jewellery
    with perforations and pigments.
    Cartagena, Southeastern Spain


11. Klasies River Caves
    (100,000 BC)
    World's first engraving (mobiliary art).
    Incised sub-parallel lines on pebble.
    Eastern Cape, South Africa


12. Blombos Cave Drawing (71,000 BC)
    World's first drawing (mobiliary art): red ochre crosshatch pattern on grindstone cobble. Southern Cape, South Africa


13. Cave of Maltravieso Stencil (64,700 BC)
    Neanderthal hand stencils
    Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain


14. Ardales Cave (63,000 BC)
    Stalactites painted red
    Northwest of Malaga, in southern Spain


15. La Pasiega Cave (62,000 BC)
    Neanderthal scalariform image
    Cantabria, Spain


16. Diepkloof Eggshell Engravings (60,000 BC)
    Engraved ostrich eggshells
    Western Cape, South Africa


17. La Ferrassie Cave (60,000 BC)
    Neanderthal cupules
    Perigord, France


18. Divje Babe flute (58,000 BC)
    Neanderthal Flute
    National Museum of Slovenia, Ljubljana


19. La Roche-Cotard Cave (55,000 BC)
    Neanderthal finger-drawings: the world's oldest parietal engravings. Loire Valley, France


20. Leang Tedongnge Cave (43,500 BC)
    World's oldest figurative painting
    Maros-Pangkep, Sulawesi


21. Leang Bulu' Sipong 4 Cave (41,900 BC)
    The first painted images of humans
    Maros-Pangkep, Sulawesi


22. El Castillo Cave (38,000 BC)
    Red disk next to hand stencils
    Cantabria, Spain


23. Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel (38,000 BC)
    World's first sculpture.
    Ivory carving of human figure with lion's head
    Swabian Jura, Germany


24. Vogelherd Cave (38,000 BC)
    Mammoth ivory carving et al.
    Swabian Jura, Germany


25. Lubang Jeriji Saleh Cave (38,000 BC)
    Animal paintings, handprints
    Borneo, Indonesia


26. Leang Timpuseng Cave (37,900 BC)
    Hand stencils, animal images
    Sulawesi, Indonesia


27. Venus of Hohle Fels
    (38,000 BC)
    Ivory carving of obese female
    Swabian Jura, Germany


28. Altxerri Cave (37,000 BC)
    Animal paintings, Altxerri B
    Basque Country, Spain


29. Gorham's Cave (37,000 BC)
    Abstract engraving
    Made by Neanderthals
    Gibraltar


30. Abri Cellier (36,000 BC)
    Engraved woolly mammoth
    Aurignacian Culture
    Dordogne, France


31. Baume-Latrone Cave
    (35,500 BC)
    Unique clay paintings
    Occitanie, France


32. Abri Castanet Engravings (35,000 BC)
    Engravings, abstract symbols
    Commune de Sergeac, Dordogne, France


33. Chauvet Cave (34,500 BC)
    Animal paintings, abstracts
    Ardèche Valley, France


34. Fumane Cave Paintings (34,500 BC)
    Figurative images of animals and human figure
    Lessini Hills, Verona, Italy


35. Altamira Cave Art (34,000 BC)
    Red claviform signs
    Cantabria, Spain


36. Tito Bustillo Cave
    (34,000 BC)
    Polychrome cave art
    Ribadesella, Asturias


37. Coliboaia Cave Art
    (30,000 BC)
    Charcoal drawings of horses and bison
    Sighestel Valley, Romania


38. Burrup Peninsula Rock Art
    (30,000 BC estimate)
    Outdoor rock engravings
    Dampier Archipelago, Australia


39. Ubirr Rock Art
    (30,000 BC estimate)
    Open air rock engravings
    Kakadu Park, NT, Australia


40. Kimberley Rock Art
    (30,000 BC estimate)
    Cupules, engravings
    Gwion/Wandjina paintings
    NW Western Australia


41. Venus of Willendorf
    (28,000 BC)
    Oolitic limestone figure
    Lower Austria


42. Venus of Galgenberg
    (28,000 BC)
    Tiny figurine carved from serpentine
    Galgenberg, Lower Austria


43. Venus of Dolní Věstonice
    (27,000 BC)
    Clay-fired venus figurine, plus
    2,300 ceramic animal figures
    South Moravian region, Czech.


44. Pech Merle Cave (27,000 BC)
    Gravettian paintings, signs.
    Cabrerets, Lot, France.


45. Roucadour Cave (27,000 BC)
    Engravings, hand stencils, signs
    Quercy, Lot, France.


46. Grande Grotte at Arcy-sur-Cure (26,700 BC)
    Animal paintings, hand stencils.
    Burgundy, France.


47. Cussac Cave (26,500 BC)
    Large scale animal engravings
    Périgord, France.


48. Grotte des Deux-Ouvertures
    (26,500 BC)
    Rock engravings of woolly mammoths and aurochs
    Ardeche Valley, France.


49. Venus of Savignano
    (26,000 BC)
    Serpentine venus figurine
    Savignano sul Punaro, Italy.


50. Nawarla Gabarnmang
    (26,000 BC)
    Charcoal painting
    Arnhem Land, Australia.


51. Apollo 11 Cave (25,500 BC)
    Animal paintings
    Huns Mountains, Namibia.


52. Cosquer Cave (25,000 BC)
    Hand stencils, engravings
    Marseilles, France.


53. Dolní Věstonice
    Portrait Head
    (25,000 BC)
    Oldest portrait bust
    Brno Museum, Czech Rep.


54. Grimaldi Venuses
    (25,000 BC)
    Female statuettes
    Liguria, Italy.


55. Gargas Cave (25,000 BC)
    Hand stencils, engravings
    Haute-Garonne, France.


56. Venus of Monpazier
    (23,000 BC)
    Limonite venus figurine
    Dordogne, France.


57. Venus of Laussel (23,000 BC)
    Limestone bas-relief
    Dordogne, France.


58. Abri du Poisson (23,000 BC)
    Relief sculpture of salmon
    Dordogne, France.


59. Venus of Brassempouy
    (23,000 BC)
    Mammoth ivory carving
    Landes, south-west France.


60. Cougnac Cave (23,000 BC)
    Placard-type signs,
    "Wounded men"
    Lot, France.


61. Venus of Lespugue
    (23,000 BC)
    Mammoth ivory carving
    Haute-Garonne, France.


62. Coa Valley Rock Art
    (22,000-28,000 BC)
    Open air engravings
    Portugal.


63. Venus Figurines of Kostenki
    (22,500 BC)
    Totemic female statuettes
    Voronezh, Russia.


64. Cova Dones (22,000 BC)
    Animal paintings, cave signs
    Valencia, Spain


65. Venus of Moravany
    (21,000 BC)
    Mammoth ivory carving
    W. Slovakia.


66. Avdeevo Venuses
    (21,000 BC)
    Ivory/stone figurines
    Kursk, Russia.


67. Gagarino Venuses
    (20,000 BC)
    Mammoth ivory carvings
    Lipetsk, Russia.


68. Mal'ta Venuses (20,000 BC)
    Totemic ivory figurines
    Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia.


69. Buret Venuses (20,000 BC)
    Ivory/stone figures
    Irkutsk Oblast, Siberia.


70. Lascaux Cave (19,000 BC)
    Paintings & engravings
    Solutrean benchmark.
    Périgord, France.


71. Siega Verde Rock Art
    (18,000-14,000 BC)
    Outdoor rock carvings
    Salamanca Province, Spain.


72. Koonalda Cave (18,000 BC)
    Finger fluting
    Nullarbor plain, Australia.


73. La Pileta Cave (18,000 BC)
    Parietal art
    Malaga, Andalucia, Spain.


74. Zaraysk Venus (18,000 BC)
    Ivory statuettes
    SE of Moscow, Russia.


75. Le Placard Cave (17,700 BC)
    Aviform signs & engravings
    Charente, France.


76. Roc de Sers (17,200 BC)
    Bas-relief animal frieze
    Charente, France.


77. Vela Spila Cave Pottery
    (15,500 BC)
    Animal figures, Croatia.


78. Kangaroo Painting Kimberley
    (15,300 BC)
    Unghango clan estate
    NE Kimberley, W. Australia.


79. Kapova Cave (14,500 BC)
    Paintings, geometric signs
    Shulgan-Tash, Urals.


80. Font-de-Gaume Cave
    (14,000 BC)
    Painted engravings
    Dordogne, France.


81. Bison Licking Its Side
    (13,000 BC)
    Reindeer antler carving
    Abri de la Madeleine, France.


82. Cap Blanc (13,000 BC)
    Frieze of relief sculpture
    Périgord, France.


83. Venus of Eliseevichi (13,000 BC)
    Ivory carving of female
    Briansk, Russia.


84. Roc-aux-Sorciers (13,000 BC)
    Relief sculpture frieze
    Vienne, France.


85. Trois Frères Cave (13,000 BC)
    Exceptional engravings
    Ariège, France.


86. Tuc d'Audoubert Cave
    (13,000 BC)
    Haut-relief sculptures
    Ariège, France.


87. Gabillou Cave (13,000 BC)
    Engravings of "Sorcerer" & "Hare"
    Périgord, France.


88. Niaux Cave (13,000 BC)
    Black weasel image
    Ariège, France


89. Petersfels Venus Figurines
    (13,000 BC)
    Jet lignite female figures
    Engen, Germany.


90. Le Portel Cave (12,500 BC)
    Black drawings
    Ariège, France.


91. Atxurra Cave (12,500 BC)
    Painted engravings
    Basque Country, Spain.


92. Cathole Cave (12,500 BC)
    Engraved drawing of reindeer,
    the oldest art in Britain.
    Gower Peninsula, Wales.


93. Creswell Crags (12,000 BC)
    Engraving of a stag
    Northernmost paleolithic art
    in Europe.
    Notts/Derby, UK.


94. Ekain Cave (12,000 BC)
    Paintings of horses.
    Basque Country, Spain.


95. Santimamiñe Cave (12,000 BC)
    Charcoal drawings of animals
    Basque Country, Spain.


96. Drinking Reindeer at Les Combarelles
    (11,700 BC)
    600 Engravings!
    Dordogne, France.


97. Lingjing Bird Figurine (11,300 BC)
    Small bone carving of a standing bird
    Lingjing, Henan, China.


98. Rouffignac Cave
    (11,000 BC)
    Black paintings
    Dordogne, France


99. Swimming Reindeer
    (11,000 BC)
    Magdalenian sculpture
    Montastruc, France.


100. Addaura Caves (10,000 BC)
     Human engravings
     Palermo, Sicily.


101. Shigir Idol (10,000 BC)
     Oldest wood carving
     Yekaterinburg, Russia.


102. Venus of Monruz-Neuchâtel
     (10,000-9,000 BC)
     Black jet figurine.
     Neuchâtel, Switzerland.


103. Göbekli Tepe (9,500 BC)
     Megalithic archeological site
     Southeastern Anatolia, Turkey.


104. Nevalı Çori (9,000 BC)
     Megalithic architecture and art
     Şanlıurfa Province, SE Turkey.


105. Cueva de las Manos
     (7,300 BC)
     Hand stencils
     Patagonia, Argentina.

For more about the chronology of art during the Stone Age, see: Prehistoric Art Timeline.