The World's Earliest Cave Art
The Ancients
History Hit
4.7 • 4.5K Ratings
🗓️ 6 November 2022
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
200,000 years ago in what is now Tibet, two children left a set of hand and foot prints on a travertine boulder, still identifiable today and is thought to be the earliest example of cave art.
In today’s episode, Tristan Hughes is joined by Dr Sally Reynolds from the University of Bournemouth, who describes the evidence that suggests this was a deliberate act of creativity, highlighting the human urge to make art goes back millennia.
We also learn that these feet and hands likely belong to Denisovans, predating Homo sapiens in Europe and Asia.
It’s a fascinating discussion around not just art, but also the earliest evidence of humans living high altitude anywhere in the world, and a glimpse into what human behaviour would have been like to allow for children to be this creative nearly a quarter of a million years ago.
For more Ancients content, subscribe to our Ancients newsletter here.
If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - enter promo code ANCIENTS for a free trial, plus 50% off your first three months' subscription.
To download, go to Android > or Apple store >
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | It's the Entrance on History Hit. I'm Tristan Hughes, your host, and in today's |
| 0:17.4 | podcast, we're in our last episode. We kicked off our new mini-series this November, |
| 0:21.9 | all about Tutankhamun as it's the centenary of the discovery of the boy King's tomb in |
| 0:27.7 | the Valley of the Kings. But this November, we're not just going to be focusing in on Tutankhamun |
| 0:33.8 | and Ancient Egypt. No, no, no, no, no, because today we're heading much further back in time, |
| 0:39.9 | and we're heading much further east too. We're heading to prehistoric Tibet. We're going |
| 0:46.2 | some 200,000 years back in time to look at some handprints and some footprints. What has |
| 0:53.9 | been labelled the world's earliest known cave art? It's an absolutely incredible story, |
| 1:00.9 | dating to a period in prehistory hundreds of thousands of years, more than a hundred |
| 1:05.5 | thousand years before the likes of Ancient Rome, Ancient Athens, Memphis, Thieves, Jerusalem, |
| 1:11.1 | before any of these cities were even a thing. And it's a remarkable story to tell the tale of |
| 1:16.1 | which I was delighted to go and interview a few weeks back, Dr. Sally Reynolds from the University |
| 1:22.0 | of Bournemouth. That may might ring a bell because Sally came on the podcast last year to talk |
| 1:26.7 | about a new groundbreaking discovery in the United States, the oldest known footprints in the |
| 1:33.0 | Americas found in white sands. Sally explained all about that incredible new discovery around |
| 1:38.5 | about this time last year, and now she's back to talk about the world's earliest known cave |
| 1:43.9 | art, these handprints, these footprints. Who do we think made them? Can we define it as art? |
| 1:50.1 | And do we think this tells us about this very prehistoric society, including also whereabouts |
| 1:55.7 | into that these footprints and handprints were discovered because that in itself is also |
| 2:00.3 | really extraordinary. So without further ado to talk about the world's earliest cave art, |
| 2:05.9 | here's Sally. |
| 2:08.2 | Sally, it is great to have you back on the podcast. Thank you so much Tristan, it's a great |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from History Hit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of History Hit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.