Unusual painted anthropomorph in Lembata island extends our understanding of rock art diversity in Indonesia

Abstract

We report new finds of two painted rock art sites in Lembata Island in Indonesia, one depicting a 'boat', the other an anthropomorph. The style of the anthropomorph is quite distinct from the small dynamic painted anthropomorphs common elsewhere in eastern Indonesia. Based on similarities with figures on Moko drums we hypothesise that this painting dates to the last millennium CE. This find extends our knowledge of the diversity of anthropomorph figures in Indonesian rock art, and indicates continuity in the expression of relationships and obligations to the ancestors through different mediums in the Sunda Islands. Show more