Australia’s oldest art is a 17,300-year-old painting of a kangaroo 

Scientists have dated the oldest rock art painting from a cave in remote northwestern Australia using fossilized wasp nests. The painting is a life-size depiction of a kangaroo and more than 17,000 years old (and 600-plus generations) — the oldest known in Australia. This finding highlights the long-standing connection of Aboriginal people to the land and the importance of traditional knowledge and Western science working together. The World’s Anna Kusmer reports.

Sign up for our daily newsletter

Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning.