These are hand and footprints that may have been left by the children of Denisovans between 169,000 and 226,000 years ago.

Several years ago, researchers in the Tibetan Highlands found something striking. On a rocky promontory, they found a series of five hand and footprints. In a new study researchers have studied these special paintings. “What do they mean?” Researcher Thomas Urban wonders aloud. “And how do we interpret these prints? They were clearly not left behind by accident.”

Hand and Footprints

After a thorough analysis, the prints appear to date from the middle Pleistocene and to be between 169,000 and 226,000 years old. This makes them three to four times older than the famous tens of thousands of years old cave paintings found in Indonesia, France and Spain. The researchers hypothesize that a child of about seven years old left the footprints on the Tibetan Highlands. A twelve-year-old may have immortalized his or her hand on the rock.

Three-dimensional scan of the hand and footprints discovered on the Tibetan highlands. Image: Cornell Chornicle

But perhaps more important than age is who left the prints. Were they Homo sapiens? Or an extinct humanoid? A credible theory, supported by recently discovered skeletal remains in the Tibetan Highlands, holds that they may have been Denisovans; a mysterious group of ancient relatives of the Neanderthals. If true, it would mean that the hand and footprints found may have been left behind by the children of Denisovan people.

More about the Denisovans
The existence of Homo denisova was first discovered in 2010, when researchers discovered a fossil phalanx. The relic was found in the Denisova Cave in Siberia. Analysis revealed that the phalanx belonged to a hitherto unknown hominin, which was distinct from the Neanderthal. After further research, researchers found that the Denisovans split from the Neanderthals about 400,000 years ago. While the Neanderthals lived in Europe and western Asia, Homo denisova colonized Asia. That theory was confirmed when researchers recovered DNA from Denisovans in the Tibetan Highlands. Denisovans may have lived tens of thousands of years in a row in what appears to be an inhospitable area at first sight.

But the discovery of the prints raises another pressing question. Because: can it be classed as art? “There’s no utilitarian explanation for it,” Urban says. “So what are they? Can we see it as artistic behaviour, a creative behaviour; something distinctly human?” And that’s an interesting question. Since the hand and footprints were left behind so long ago, the prints could possibly represent the oldest works of art on Earth.

Place

The place where the hand and footprints were left lifts a corner of the veil. For example, they are placed on a slippery and sloping surface. “You don’t just run into this,” Urban says. “In addition, the chance that someone has fallen in this way is also small.”

Handprints

In addition, the fact that in addition to the footprints, also handprints have been found, is interesting. While footprints have been found frequently, handprints are much rarer. These have been discovered here and there in caves and interpreted as abstract art. And so the hand and footprints found on the Tibetan Highlands could possibly also bear the same title.

What is art?

However, an eternal question that scientists continue to discuss is: what exactly is art? “Different camps have specific definitions of art that prioritize different criteria,” Urban says. “But I would like to go beyond that. There seem to be limitations to these strict categories. They prevent us from thinking more broadly about creative behaviour.” The researchers are fairly certain that the hand and footprints found on the Tibetan Highlands were left intentionally. “I think we can show that this isn’t utilitarian behavior,” Urban says. “There’s something playful, creative, possibly symbolic about this. This touches on a very fundamental question about what it actually means to be human.” The researcher therefore argues for a broader definition of art, even if this puts some experts on edge.

It would mean that researchers may have discovered the oldest works of art on Earth. And while the exact identity of the ‘artists’ may never be known, the ‘artwork’ does show that the Tibetan Highlands were inhabited some 169,000 and 226,000 years ago. And that adds another piece to the enormously complex puzzle of our own human history.