Adhi Agus Oktaviana

Adhi Agus Oktaviana is an Indonesian scientist studying rock art. He is notable for his discovery of a 67,800-year-old handprint in Metanduno cave on Muna Island, Indonesia. This discovery is newsworthy because it is now recognized as the world's oldest known rock art, predating previously known examples in Europe. Oktaviana found the ancient hand stencil in 2015, hidden beneath a more recent painting. The dating of the handprint, achieved through analysis by Indonesian and Australian researchers, challenges the long-held theory that human artistic expression originated in Ice Age Europe. This finding is significant as it sheds light on the early migration patterns of humans and their artistic capabilities, suggesting that sophisticated artistic expression was present in Indonesia much earlier than previously thought.