Indonesia's ancient Sulawesi cave art faces damage from record wildfires
Severe wildfires on Sulawesi are endangering the island's 67,000-year-old cave paintings, researchers warn that heat and smoke could accelerate their decay.
A series of intense wildfires, the strongest in over a decade, are sweeping across Indonesia as an El Niño-induced heat wave dries out forests and peatlands. Although the worst damage is on Sumatra and Borneo, fires have spread to Sulawesi, putting the Maros-Pangkep karst region and its UNESCO Global Geopark at risk. The caves contain paintings dated to at least 51,200 years and hand stencils up to 67,800 years old, making them the oldest known prehistoric art.
Firefighter Muhammad Ikfar reported that flames came within 800 metres of the Maros-Pangkep site and burned more than 270 hectares of the park. Archaeologist Basran Burhan warned that even without direct contact, rising temperatures can hasten corrosion, while smoke creates soot that blurs the images. Ongoing firefighting efforts continue, but officials stress urgent mitigation to preserve this unique cultural heritage.
Why it matters
The fires threaten humanity’s oldest known cave art, a priceless record of early artistic expression.
In this story
