The Aporia · Indonesian wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi

Indonesian wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi

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Reuters. (2026, October 23). Indonesian wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3371884/indonesian-wildfires-threaten-worlds-oldest-cave-paintings-sulawesi

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Quick Summary

Indonesian wildfires, exacerbated by a severe El Niño, threaten the world's oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi, which are up to 67,000 years old. The fires, while worst in Sumatra and Borneo, have also spread to Sulawesi, putting at risk limestone caves that contain these ancient artworks.

Written by AI on 2026-10-23, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Indonesian wildfires, driven by a severe El Niño event, are threatening world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi, which date back more than 67,000 years. While Sumatra and Borneo are hit hardest, fires have spread to Sulawesi, including South Sulawesi where limestone caves house these ancient artworks. Researchers from Australia's Griffith University found that a reddish-colored hand stencil in a cave on Muna island off Sulawesi is at least 67,800 years old. The heat and smoke from the fires risk accelerating the deterioration of these invaluable historical artifacts despite no direct fire damage yet.

Written for “Indonesian Wildfires Threaten Cave Paintings” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

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This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Indonesia wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings Same event

The Hindu

Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 77/100

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Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

0 of 3 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

not political

takes no side on a contested political question

Publisher signals

63/100

South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

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South China Morning Post · 3630 article(s) · 7 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 7 correction(s)

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Reuters

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Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.

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Topics

El Nino Indonesia Indonesian Sulawesi Sumatra

Subjects

Sulawesi GPE · 2× Sumatra GPE · 2× Borneo GPE · 1× Indonesia GPE · 1× Indonesian NORP · 1×

Narrative

While Sumatra and Borneo are the worst affected, fires have also spread to Sulawesi, where limestone caves house art as old as 67,000 years Indonesia is battling its most intense forest and land fires since 2015 as a severe El Nino drives up temperatures and reduces rainfall, leaving its forest and peatland vulnerable to fire.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-23

2026-10-23 · South China Morning Post

Indonesian wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi · assertive framing

Claims (3 extracted, 0 hedged)

Indonesian wildfires threaten world’s oldest cave paintings in Sulawesi asserted

wildfires → threaten → Sulawesi

Nino → affect → fire

While the islands of Sumatra and Borneo are the worst affected by the disaster, fires have also spread on the island of Sulawesi, including in South Sulawesi where limestone caves house the world’s oldest prehistoric art. asserted

caves → affect → art