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Huntley J, Aubert M, Oktaviana AA, Lebe R, Hakim B, Burhan B, Aksa LM, Geria IM, Ramli M, Siagian L, Brand HEA, Brumm A. The effects of climate change on the Pleistocene rock art of Sulawesi. Sci Rep 2021; 11:9833. [PMID: 33986305 PMCID: PMC8119963 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-87923-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
The equatorial tropics house some of the earliest rock art yet known, and it is weathering at an alarming rate. Here we present evidence for haloclasty (salt crystallisation) from Pleistocene-aged rock art panels at 11 sites in the Maros-Pangkep limestone karsts of southern Sulawesi. We show how quickly rock art panels have degraded in recent decades, contending that climate-catalysed salt efflorescence is responsible for increasing exfoliation of the limestone cave surfaces that house the ~ 45 to 20-thousand-year-old paintings. These artworks are located in the world's most atmospherically dynamic region, the Australasian monsoon domain. The rising frequency and severity of El Niño-induced droughts from anthropogenic climate change (that is, higher ambient temperatures and more consecutive dry days), combined with seasonal moisture injected via monsoonal rains retained as standing water in the rice fields and aquaculture ponds of the region, increasingly provide ideal conditions for evaporation and haloclasty, accelerating rock art deterioration.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Huntley
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, PERAHU, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.
| | - M Aubert
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, PERAHU, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.,Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - A A Oktaviana
- Griffith Centre for Social and Cultural Research, PERAHU, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, Australia.,Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - R Lebe
- Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya, Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - B Hakim
- Balai Arkeologi Sulawesi, Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - B Burhan
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
| | - L Muhammad Aksa
- Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya, Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - I Made Geria
- Pusat Penelitian Arkeologi Nasional (ARKENAS), Jakarta, Indonesia
| | - M Ramli
- Balai Pelestarian Cagar Budaya, Sulawesi Selatan, Makassar, Indonesia
| | - L Siagian
- Museum Kepresidenan Republik Indonesia, Balai Kirti, Bogor, Indonesia.,Universitas Gadjah Mada (Fakultas Ilmu Budaya-Magister Arkeologi), Yogyakarta, Indonesia
| | - H E A Brand
- Australian Synchrotron, Clayton, VIC, Australia
| | - A Brumm
- Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution, Environmental Futures Research Institute, Griffith University, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
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