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Visitors at a South Carolina campground were evacuated Sunday evening as law enforcement personnel, drones, dogs and an armored vehicle descended on the site for a “possible weapons incident” that turned into a barricaded person, officials said.

The Horry County Police Department said it responded to the Ocean Lakes Family Campground in Myrtle Beach at around 7:30 p.m. Sunday in response to a report of a “weapons incident” at site 1740 Neptune. Once there, officers evacuated “potentially impacted units” nearby and warned others to avoid the area.

In an update at around 8:30 p.m., police wrote on social media that the weapons incident had become a barricaded subject incident. SWAT team personnel, a bomb squad, K-9 units, a drone team, and other personnel responded to the scene.

As rumors began to swirl in the community, police urged “caution in sharing photos or information regarding the location of officers at the scene as this could place them at greater risk as they work to resolve this incident peacefully.” The campground, likewise, asked community members to “help dispel rumors regarding this situation.”

“There is not a murder as being mentioned on the unofficial pages, comments, and posts,” the campground wrote on Facebook. “We do not report hearsay, speculation, and rumors. We wait for the professional emergency officials to handle the situation, provide support, and work to keep everyone safe. We understand there are many questions, but do not help cause others to panic for social media engagement.”

As negotiations continued with the barricaded subject, police sent another update at around 9:30 p.m., warning curious people to avoid the area.

“Don’t let the desire to catch a glimpse of the incident place you in a dangerous position,” police said.

About ten minutes after posting that update, police said the subject was safely taken into custody without incident. No injuries were reported.

Videos from the scene appeared to show a woman in handcuffs being led to a police vehicle. Police did not reveal the identity of the subject in custody and said the investigation into the incident was ongoing.

—TMX contributed to this report.

A hacker in Australia has come up with a unique method to bag delicious fried chicken from KFC at prices way lower than the official cost, exposing “very bad cybersecurity” at the company app.

Knewz.com has learned that the anonymous hacker shared his “hack” on the deal-fetching Australian website OzBargain.

A global conglomerate, KFC is a cornerstone of the fast-food industry with an average annual revenue of over $6 billion.

Despite the company offering special deals and discounts, users often turn to the OzBargain website in search of ways to save a bit of extra cash when buying fried chicken from the online outlets of the Colonel’s franchise.

Posting the latest hack, the anonymous hacker – who goes by the name “AwesomeAndrew” online – wrote in his OzBargain post:

“Since the previous hacks stopped working, I started looking into new methods of getting cheap chicken. I noticed that the KFC app seems to only perform client side validation of whether your cart is valid (very bad cybersecurity), so I found a new method of getting the hack which works on the KFC website ordering.”

“AwesomeAndrew” explained that his eight-step method involves “performing a replay attack on the add to cart request sent to the server,” adding that the hack only works on computers and not handheld devices.

“But I believe that it might still be possible on the app due to lack of server side cart validation.”

Notably, a lot of the posts on the OzBargain website focus on grabbing a good deal on KFC items. Since the website launched in 2006, there have been a total of 748 deals posted for KFC—including special offers launched by the company.

However, one of the first hacks posted on the site was in 2020, by a user named “drezy.”

“Just wanted to post this hack in case people were interested. You can get 4x Pieces of Original Recipe Chicken or 5x Tenders for only $6.95 in the KFC App. Get in quick before they figure it out and remove it!” drezy wrote in his post at the time.

The handle “drezy” belongs to a 42-year-old office worker named Andre, and he told the Australian news outlet Crikey that he came across the hack accidentally while ordering a meal through the KFC app.

AwesomeAndrew, who posted the latest hack, said in a message on the OzBargain website that he feels hacks like this “should exist because they inform companies of the importance of having good cyber security.”

“Big companies already make tons of profit, way too much in my opinion,” he said in the message, via Crikey.

However, one of the users pointed out in his post that the hack borders on “unauthorised modification of data,” which is considered a criminal activity.

“You are intentionally bypassing their security even though the security is obviously written by a first year computer grad as anyone else in the industry knows the very first computer lesson is never rely on client side validation,” the user wrote.

“They are unlikely to come after you for this, but make no mistake it is most definitely a crime.”

Crikey mentioned in their report that KFC has been on the receiving end of hackers’ quest to exploit the system for cheaper meals for a while now, forcing the company to repeatedly fix vulnerabilities in their online system.

While these hacks might be aimed at trying to bag a meal at a cheaper price, KFC was the target of a significant and more serious cyberattack nearly a decade ago.

The 1.2 million members of the Colonel’s Club loyalty program in the United Kingdom received an email from KFC in December 2016, informing them that a hacker had breached the website and urging them to change their passwords.

“Our monitoring systems have found a small number of Colonel’s Club accounts may have been compromised as a result of our website being targeted… Whilst it is unlikely you have been impacted, we advise that you change your password as a precaution,” the email read, per the news outlet The Next Web.

The outlet theorized at the time that the hackers could have gotten their hands on the list of email addresses and passwords of the members of the loyalty program, which would count as a significant data breach.

Anti-aircraft gunners shot down a Russian Su-25 fighter bomber jet on Sunday, July 7, near the Donetsk region of Ukraine.

Knewz.com has learned that this is the second Su-25 fighter jet to have been downed by Ukrainian air defenses in 10 days.

The $11 million fighter bomber was taken down by anti-aircraft gunners from a separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after Colonel-General Marko Bezruchko, a decorated soldier who fought in the First World War.

The Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group channel on Telegram was the first to report the incident, where they mentioned that the downed aircraft currently lay burning on “the steppes of the Ukrainian Donbas.”

“Our Ukrainian troops have shot down a Russian Su-25 aircraft, which was attacking the positions of the defense forces, on the Pokrovsk front,” the Telegram report wrote.

“The anti-aircraft gunners of the [110th] Separate Mechanised Brigade named after Lieutenant General Mark Bezruchko have destroyed another Su-25 attack aircraft, which is now burning in the steppes of Ukrainian Donbas.”

The “Sukhoi” Su-25 fighter bomber jet is a ground-attack aircraft designed to provide close-range air support on the battlefield.

Armed with one twin barrel 30mm gun in the bottom of the fuselage with 250 rounds and eight pylons under the wings that can carry about 88,18 pounds of air-to-ground weapons – including 57mm to 330mm rockets – the aircraft can attack low-altitude, slow-moving targets in the air, as well as targets on the ground, per United States military information website ODIN.

On June 28, The National Guard of Ukraine reported shooting down another Russian Su-25 fighter aircraft, also in the Donetsk region.

The Ukrainian National Guard wrote on Telegram that a team from its 31st Brigade downed the bomber using an Igla MANPAD air defense missile system. “The Su-25 attack aircraft was downed with a well-aimed shot,” the report mentioned.

The Telegram report was accompanied by a video of the successful attack that showed the launched projectile hit the enemy aircraft, with the operators exclaiming in excitement as the Su-25 went down leaving behind a trail of smoke.

The news outlet Kyiv Post explained that the Igla portable air-defense missile system “consists of a single-use transport and launch container, a launch mechanism, and a built-in radar interrogator for identifying friendly and enemy aircraft.”

“As soon as the infrared radiation from the air target is detected by the receiver of the homing head, visual and sound indicators alert the operator that the target has been fixed and captured. The operator then decides when to launch the anti-aircraft missile, which autonomously tracks and hits the target.”

It is worth noting that the latest instance of Ukrainian air defenses shooting down a Russian Su-25 fighter jet came a day before Vladimir Putin launched one of the most devastating missile strikes on Ukraine, causing nationwide death and devastation.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the strike on Monday, July 8, saw more than 40 missiles of various types targeted five Ukrainian cities—Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Kryvyi Rih.

The barrage included the difficult-to-intercept Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of the most advanced weapons in Putin’s repertoire.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko shared the latest update on nationwide casualties on Telegram, mentioning that 28 people have been found dead and 112 people have been recorded injured so far.

“Emergency rescue operations at the sites of the biggest [explosions] continue. There are rescuers, police, and communal services. Separate gratitude to all the caring people who rushed to the rescue. Unity makes us stronger,” Klymenko wrote in his report.

“It is very important that the world should not be silent about it now and that everyone should see what Russia is and what it is doing,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote about the attack on social media, adding that the exact number of casualties was still unknown.

Hollywood star Cara Delevigne, known for her role in the movie Suicide Squad, claimed in a recent interview that she got drunk for the first time at the age of eight.

Knewz.com has learned that this was the start of a long journey of substance abuse which she used as a coping mechanism.

Speaking to a reporter, she recalled how she “got drunk that day.”

“I was eight, what a crazy age to get drunk.”

She also related to a fire that razed her Los Angeles home on March 15, 2024, while she was in London for work.

“It sucks but everyone was safe and, like anything, if I’d not been sober I would still be reeling over that.”

According to an interview with her father Charles, the house burned following an issue with overhead power cables and left the 31-year-old model devastated. “She had everything in her house—her whole life.”

“She built it. She made it,” he said.

According to Cara, however, she could have fared much worse following the news of the fire. 

“I would still affect me really deeply. Of course, it affected me, it’s super sad.”

“It never won’t be. But I don’t use it as a tool to keep myself sad,” she said, referring to the loss of her house.

Cara went to speak about her social habits, saying: 

“I used to think drugs and alcohol helped me cope … but they didn’t, they kept me sad and super depressed. I feel like I’ve got my power back and I’m not being controlled by other things.”

Although committed to her journey of recovery and abstinence, she claims that people drinking around her do not bother her and that she still attends parties and festivals.

She recalled a recent experience at London’s Glastonbury Festival that she attended sober.

“It smelt bad, my feet hurt and I didn’t stay up so late, but it was just as much fun. I never want my life to change in that way.”

She also referred to another such party that she attended—presumably not sober.

The paparazzi caught wind of her presence at the annual Burning Man festival in Mexico and the ensuing photos disseminated in the press made her rethink life in general.

“Listen, I signed up for this, this is my job, it’s what I do.”

“But without that would I be sober now? I would have never been Sally Bowles in the West End, I’m super proud of that,” she said of her role in a British production.

She went on to note that her journey to sobriety has not been an easy one.

“People want my story to be this after-school special where I just say,  ‘Oh look, I was an addict, and now I’m sober and that’s it.’ And it’s not as simple as that. It doesn’t happen overnight.”

“Of course I want things to be instant — I think this generation especially, we want things to happen quickly — but I’ve had to dig deeper,” she said in the interview first published by Britain’s The Times.

While the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump merely offers hints about the Oval Office occupant for 2025, Europe, Canada, Korea, and Russia are already certain of the outcome.

Knewz.com has learned that NATO, Germany, Canada, and Turkish decision-makers in the country’s capital Ankara, are putting measures in place to deal with the possibility of Trump winning the election.

The upcoming NATO anniversary in Brussels, which would have typically centered on the war in Ukraine, is expected to prioritize discussions on the looming Trump administration instead.

Reports have since telegraphed mixed sentiments from various European thought leaders including NATO head, Jens Stoltenberg.

When grilled by the press on Friday, July 5, he sidestepped the questions regarding Biden’s health and by extension, what it spells for NATO and the war in Ukraine.

“What I can do, and NATO can do, is that we can focus on the substance of NATO. And that’s exactly what we’ll do,” he told the press.

Notably, the military organization’s efforts to lock in long-term support for the war in Ukraine (lest Trump come to power and put an end to Biden’s stream of handouts) have also been documented.

Turkey, on the other hand, is concerned about potential policy changes in Syria should the White House become conservative again, and has thus resorted to reviewing a distilled compilation of conservative and right-wing policy ideas named Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025.

South Korea also betrayed the same concerns when it tried to prematurely renew a deal with America to hold onto the 28,000 troops stationed in its country. 

Back in the United States, various secret sitdowns between German and Canadian officials, and conservative power brokers, have been reported.

The subject matter of these meetings allegedly spread to closed-door working breakfasts comprising various European ambassadors in Washington.

It was during one of these gatherings, in a brainstorming session on how to prepare for the Republican front-runner, that an unnamed envoy posed the questions:

“Can we truly prepare for Trump?”

“Or do we rather have to wait and see what the new reality would look like?” per Politico

A key aspect of Trump’s Europe policies while he was in office was that he wanted his NATO allies to shell out more capital on their defense. To demonstrate his resolve he even threatened to withdraw the U.S. from NATO.

Be this as it may, he recently claimed that he was capable of ending the Ukraine war in 24 hours. 

One prospective strategy to achieve this was to present Russia with an ultimatum: withdraw, or face a deluge of American weapons sent to Ukraine.

However indirectly, Russia has since acknowledged the likelihood of Trump returning to office. 

During a meeting with the press, Vladimir Putin stated: “The fact that Mr Trump, as a presidential candidate, declares that he is ready and wants to stop the war in Ukraine, we take this completely seriously.”

Three people, including one child, were airlifted to hospitals on the Florida mainland after a boat crashed into a bridge in the Florida Keys in the early hours of Monday, officials said.

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, there were six adults and two children on board the Contender fishing boat when it crashed at a high rate of speed into the South Pine Channel Bridge off Little Torch Key in the Lower Keys at around 2 a.m. Monday.

Monroe County Fire Rescue were the first to respond to the crash and used ladders from an old bridge to get down to the sinking boat and rescue those on board, according to the Miami Herald.

Two victims were airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center in Miami and one was airlifted to Jackson South Medical Center in Kendall, just south of Miami. Four other victims were transported to Lower Keys Medical Center in Key West.

FWC is investigating the crash.

—TMX contributed to this report.

President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, is believed to be wielding significant power behind the scenes.

Knewz.com has learned of the growing belief that Hunter Biden has high stakes invested in his father’s political success, including the outcome of his felony tax trial in California.

With this being the case, anyone in the Democratic ranks entertaining the idea of taking over the reins of power would have to deal with Hunter first—a task may prove difficult given the perceived wiliness of the first son.

This perception, touted to and by right-leaning politicos, has been fueled by the observations that Hunter has stuck by his father’s side from the days leading up to the first presidential debate, including the first family’s stay at Camp David, to his continued post-debate presence at the White House.

According to documented (unnamed) sources, Hunter has postured himself as a “gatekeeper” to the first family—the President included, and even goes as far as sitting in on meetings with senior staffers.

White House seniors are reportedly not impressed with the general sentiment being: “What the hell is happening?”

The latter adds fuel to the allegation that the first son has always considered himself smarter than various presidential aides.

Congress has become aware of this behavior with Intelligence Committee head, Mike Turner, demanding insights as to whether the embattled 54-year-old with a spotty track record is also sitting in on classified briefings.

Hunter is believed to have at least some control over his father since the death of his older brother, Beau, in 2015. Notably, his confident demeanor around the White House – including during a recent Medal of Honor ceremony where he appeared to work the room and network – is considered a nod to the latter.

Further enforcing the idea of Hunter’s capacity for guile, cited assertions by friends suggest that the former drug addict and party animal is actually intelligent, methodical, and manipulative. 

Along with these qualities, he is noted to be self-serving, and given his legal quandaries and the looming prospect of jail, his father’s success in his bid for another presidential term is perceived as of utmost importance to Hunter.

Hunter’s ambitions, as he works outside the spotlight come despite his father’s claims that he (Joe) would not issue the first son a presidential pardon if he were handed a jail sentence.

According to an opinion piece by right-leaning New York-based Columnist, Miranda Devine, a friend of Biden’s claimed that “Hunter will be enjoying the feeling of control he has at the center of the constitutional crisis facing the nation.”

Devine, in the article published by the New York Post, refers to the first son as a “proxy commander in chief” claiming that he is “the Real Point Person.” 

She goes on to say that Hunter’s perceived influence in the context of his father’s controversial cognitive state is bad news for not only the Democrats but the United States too.

Russia launched an unprecedented missile strike on Ukraine on Monday, July 8, killing at least 20 people nationwide and striking a children’s hospital in Kyiv.

The brutal assault, which included advanced Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, marked the heaviest bombardment of the Ukrainian capital in nearly four months, Knewz.com has learned.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, more than 40 missiles of various types targeted five Ukrainian cities—Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk, and Kryvyi Rih.

The central city of Kryvyi Rih bore the brunt, losing at least 10 of its residents in the massive missile strike.

In the city of Kryvyi Rih, which witnessed some of the deadliest impacts, 31 people were injured in addition to the fatalities. The head of city administration, Oleksandr Vilkul, described the attack as “massive,” revealing the appalling scale of damage inflicted by the Russian military.

Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko shared the latest update on nationwide casualties on Telegram, mentioning that 28 people have been found dead and 112 people have been recorded injured so far.

“Emergency rescue operations at the sites of the biggest [explosions] continue. There are rescuers, police, and communal services. Separate gratitude to all the caring people who rushed to the rescue. Unity makes us stronger,” Klymenko wrote in his report.

Explosions also occurred in Ukraine’s central Dnipropetrovsk region, creating panic and chaos among the local populace. Per Interior Minister Klymenko’s report, 11 people have died while 62 have been found injured in this region alone.

One of the most heartbreaking scenes unfolded at the Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital in Kyiv. A partially collapsed two-story wing of the facility left rescuers in a desperate search for survivors under the rubble.

Windows and doors of the 10-story main building of the hospital blew out and the walls were blackened as a result of the missile strike. Blood was found spattered on the floor in one of the rooms.

Medical personnel and local residents are working together to remove the rubble and search for children and staff who might be trapped underneath.

Smoke billowed from the building while volunteers, emergency crews, and locals formed a human chain, passing stones and debris to each other in a frantic effort to reach potential survivors, it has been reported by The Associated Press.

Zelensky shared the grim news on Telegram, saying the exact number of casualties was still unknown. “It is very important that the world should not be silent about it now and that everyone should see what Russia is and what it is doing,” the Ukrainian President stated.

The missile barrage included Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, one of Russia’s most advanced weapons, known for its speed and difficulty to intercept. The Kinzhal flies at ten times the speed of sound, making it almost impossible for defense systems to react.

The capital city was left shaking from the blasts. Entire sections of residential buildings were destroyed, with one district in Kyiv losing a multi-story section to the bombardment. The Kyiv city administration reported fires in multiple areas due to falling debris from intercepted missiles.

The Monday morning assault took place at a time when many Kyiv residents were out in the streets, intensifying the tragedy. Andrii Yermak, head of Ukraine’s presidential office, confirmed the attack’s timing magnified its devastating human toll.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko revealed that official assessments of the attack’s full impact were still being conducted.

The timing of the attack is notably significant, occurring on the eve of a three-day NATO summit in Washington. The summit is set to discuss strategies for reassuring Ukraine of the alliance’s unwavering support amid Europe’s largest conflict since World War II.

It is also worth noting that the missile attack came a day after Ukraine carried out a drone strike on Russia’s southwestern Voronezh region, setting fire to an ammunition warehouse and prompting a state of emergency in the region.

Aleksandr Gusev, the regional Governor of Voronezh, shared a statement about the attack on Sunday, July 7, mentioning that around 50 people from the Podgorensky district – where the drone attack took place – have been moved to transported to temporary accommodation centers, where they are being given “all the necessary assistance.”

“Several UAVs were detected and destroyed by on-duty air defense forces over the territory of the Voronezh region last night. A fire broke out at a warehouse due to the fall of their wreckage. Detonation of explosive items began in the Podgorensky district,” Gusev said in the statement, via CNN.

“Operational services, military, and officials are working on the site to eliminate the emergency.”

Hurricane Beryl caused absolute devastation in the Caribbean islands over the week as it struck Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Barbados after developing into a Category 5 hurricane.

Knewz.com has learned that the hurricane was the earliest storm in the Atlantic to intensify into Category 5.

Locals in Jamaica saw the hurricane intensify rapidly on July 3, with over three Caribbean islands reporting complete or severe destruction of over 90% of residences over the week.

As of now, three people have been reported dead in Grenada, three in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, three in Venezuela, and two in Jamaica.

Treasure Beach, a small fishing and agricultural community on the coast of southern Jamaica, is still trying to cope with the aftermath of the ravaging hurricane, with locals coming together to clean up the streets and help each other.

Rebecca Wiersma, an American tour and villa operator who has lived in the community since 1993, told the news outlet Miami Herald that she had never seen a calamity this bad hit the area.

“Everything is devastated. It’s absolutely devastated… I’ve lived here for 31 years and never seen it so bad,” she told the outlet. “We are just all feeling very grateful that nobody was hurt or killed. That’s the first thing we all start with. Saying ‘Praise God for life.’”

Residents of the Jamaican community reported that the roofs of nearly one-third of the community’s homes had been destroyed, according to a preliminary assessment.

The roof of the Norman Manley International Airport in Jamaica was also partially ripped off by Category 4 winds, with Miami Herald reporting that the southern coast of the island saw the worst of damages.

Adrian Brown, a 27-year-old bartender who has been a resident of Treasure Beach for several years now, reported that the streets were strewn with rippled pieces of zinc metal, commonly used for roofing in the area.

“There’s zinc everywhere from people’s houses… Words don’t even do justice,” he told Miami Herald, adding that the storm went “from zero to a hundred real quick.”

As of now, around 55% of Jamaica is still without electricity and most of the island still does not have access to running water. However, Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness has visited the worst-affected areas of the island and promised residents swift relief from the aftermath of the calamity.

“I know some of you are experiencing discomfort and displacement, and I want to assure you that the government will move as quickly as we can to get you the help you need,” Holness said in a statement via The Associated Press.

A man from Union Island, in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, reported that strong winds flew away two of his 2,000-gallon rubber tanks that he had filled in preparation for the hurricane to secure access to running water.

“I strapped them down securely on six sides; and I watched the wind lift those tanks and take them away — filled with water… I’m a sailor and I never believed wind could do what I saw it do. If anyone (had) ever told me wind could do that, I would have told them they lie!” he told The Associated Press.

In the island of Carriacou and the surrounding Windward Islands, strong gusts of wind reached a velocity of 150 mph and higher, with the National Hurricane Center warning that the winds could be fiercer on hilltops and mountains, per USA Today.

Elizabeth Riley, Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency, said in a July 3 update, that the damages in the Grenadine Islands are “quite significant” and that residents have been left exposed and vulnerable.

“There’s really nothing that can prepare you to see this level of destruction… It is almost Armageddon-like, almost total damage and destruction of all buildings. Complete devastation and destruction of agriculture. Complete and total destruction of the natural environment,” said Grenada Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell in a statement via USA Today.

YouTube documentarian Jonathan Petramala did an independent coverage of the devastation in Grenada and spoke to some of the affected locals.

His video captured destroyed homes in all directions, and the landscape was dotted with debris left in the wake of the nightmarish Hurricane Beryl. He asked one of the residents how they were, to which they replied, “Alive.”

“Nothing [can] prepare you for this… This is saddening. I won’t wish this on my worst enemy,” one of the locals told Petramala. “Somebody else is going to experience this tomorrow later today… tomorrow.”

One of the locals showed the documentarian pictures of his home and place of business before the hurricane hit and he lost everything. “All of this is gone,” he said.

In an astounding revelation, researchers have determined that a cave painting in Indonesia is the world’s oldest known artwork, dating back at least 51,200 years.

Knewz.com has learned that the painting, discovered on the island of Sulawesi, is also considered the earliest example of storytelling through art, as reported in the journal Nature.

This discovery not only challenges previous understanding but also opens new avenues for exploring early human capabilities.

The cave painting, located in Leang Karampuang cave, features what appears to be three small human-bird hybrids surrounding a massive wild pig. “Which they were probably hunting,” noted Renaud Joannes-Boyau, a co-author of the study.

This depiction is a significant milestone in human cognitive evolution, marking the earliest known attempt to convey a narrative through art.

Joannes-Boyau, also a professor at Southern Cross University in Lismore, Australia, expressed excitement over the findings. “That is something new, something very important, something that happened much older than we thought,” he said.

The researchers initially took samples in 2017, but it wasn’t until a collaboration between Indonesian and Australian scientists employed a new dating method that the painting’s true age was uncovered.

This groundbreaking dating technique, based on uranium isotope decay, involves using a laser beam only a third the width of a human hair to sample calcite layers directly in contact with the paint. The technique not only boosts accuracy but also minimizes damage to the invaluable artifact.

“You get bumps. You have places where you have more calcites and places where you have less calcites. That makes it very complicated to date,” said Joannes-Boyau, explaining the challenges of previous methods.

By focusing on the layers of calcite deposited by water flow over the cave walls, scientists were able to precisely determine the painting’s age. The new approach also enabled them to reassess a nearby painting’s age, revising it to at least 48,000 years old, 4,000 years older than previously thought.

The dense network of caves on Sulawesi, home to approximately 20 million people, houses an astonishing array of ancient paintings. These caves’ unique preservation capabilities lie in the island’s weather and topography, allowing the artworks to survive for tens of thousands of years.

The previous record-holder, also a painting of a wild pig depicting a narrative scene, aged at least 45,500 years, was found in a cave called Leang Tedongnge. The leap to 51,200 years marks a significant advancement in the understanding of early human art.

“Representation of human figures is already extremely rare,” Joannes-Boyau remarked. “But storytelling of 51,200 years old is even more incredible.”

As researchers continue to delve into humanity’s past, the findings provoke new questions about ancient human capabilities and purposes. Although the precise meaning of the painting remains a mystery, its location in a hard-to-reach cave hints at a ceremonial significance.

“They were not common living spaces. This is actually a place where you go for a purpose and is probably linked to some sort of a ceremony,” Joannes-Boyau surmised.

The discovery has been an emotional and intellectual milestone for the researchers involved. “It’s the story of humanity as a group,” Joannes-Boyau said, reflecting on the broader implications of the find. “It’s not about our differences; it’s about all of us being on that scene.”

The revelations from Sulawesi’s caves mark not just a chronological leap but also an evolutionary one. This early example of storytelling in art suggests a sophisticated level of cognitive development and social complexity previously unrecognized in our ancestors.

Scientific communities worldwide are expected to closely follow the implications of this groundbreaking study, eager to extrapolate its lessons to broader narratives of human history and evolution.

As researchers like Joannes-Boyau continue to explore these ancient artworks, the hope is to unravel more chapters of the human saga, offering rich insights into the minds and lives of our distant ancestors. What remains untouched today may tomorrow reveal priceless stories carved in stone, echoing the voices of a world long past but never forgotten.