ANCIENT rock art discovered in a cave near Taunggyi in Shan State is the first of its kind to be found on mainland Southeast Asia, the head of the Archeology Department at Yangon University, Professor Daw Yee Yee Aung, said last week.

The discovery showed that humans had used the cave for thousands of years than earlier believed, she said.

The rock art, cup-shaped indentations known as ‘cupules’ in the floor of the cave, was discovered by a joint team from the university and the Australian National University during a six-day survey in early June, Professor Daw Yee Yee Aung said.

“We found about 344 cupules,” she said.

“Although this type of rock art has been found in the Mt Kinabalu region of Malaysia [in eastern Sabah State], in central India and in northern Australia, this is the first time it has been discovered on mainland Southeast Asia.”

The rock art was found in the smaller of two caves known as the Padaline caves, which are about 400 feet apart.

“It may be 20,000 years old because the cupules found in India have been dated to 20,000 years ago or more,” Professor Daw Yee Yee Aung said.

“To be certain of their age we will have to date them with the aid of special equipment,” she said.

The research team, which included Dr Alan Thorne and Dr Paul Tacon from the ANU, also discovered wall paintings in the small cave.

Professor Daw Yee Yee Aung said the paintings were covered with a layer of calcium, which might explain why they had not been found by previous research visits to the caves.

The caves were discovered by a Yangon University geologist, U Khin Maung Kyaw, in 1965.

They were explored in 1969 by a team headed by the then director of the Ministry of Culture, U Aung Thaw. The team, which comprised geologists, biologists and anthropologists, discovered wall paintings and stone artifacts dating to the Neolithic Age (8000-5500 BCE).

Testing at the Nuclear Science Research Institute in New Zealand indicated that the artifacts were between 6570 to 11,000 years old.

Most of the wall paintings are in the larger cave. Since 1969 the Ministry of Culture has covered the paintings with plastic and guards have also been posted in the area.

Professor Daw Yee Yee Aung said archeologists from YU and ANU hoped to carry out further research at the Padaline Caves and other sites in Myanmar later this year.