
Sulawesi's cave art and the origins of storytelling
In 2012, the discovery of rock art in caves on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi changed our understanding of early human history. Archaeologist Maxime Aubert tells Leo Dunlop how his team used a new dating technique to reveal that some of the cave paintings were tens of thousands of years older than previously thought. This challenged long-held ideas that art and storytelling originated in Western Europe. Witness History is a short BBC World Service podcast about history that takes you inside big moments from the past through first-hand testimony and archive. Each weekday, in...
Opens the player: the full transcript, every word clickable, with translation and flashcards.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 94% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 188 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 45 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Try it: tap any word
Real sentences from the start of this episode. Every word is marked with its level.
.
I will show you the shop of the five pieces.
Tap a word to see its meaning in your language.
Do you know these words?
8 harder words from this episode. Tap one to see what it means, then mark it.
- B21:30
Tap for the meaning
- B21:42
Tap for the meaning
- C13:03
Tap for the meaning
- C14:46
Tap for the meaning
- B26:49
Tap for the meaning
- B28:26
Tap for the meaning
- B29:16
Tap for the meaning
- C110:55
Tap for the meaning
Mark a few words and we'll tell you how this episode fits your level.
Is this episode right for you?
B2 · Upper-intermediate
Comfortable if you already follow TV news
- 94% of the words are B1 or easier.
- 188 words a minute: natural, fairly fast speech.
- 45 harder words (B2 and up) in the whole episode.
Transcript
The opening of the episode. The whole transcript is in the player.
harder words (B2+)
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. I will show you the shop of the five pieces. The first one is from 2000 years old. It is not only a cost-free shop,
but it is also a small and small shop. This is a small shop called the cost-free shop. The only one is the one with the most expensive. Welcome to Witness History from the BBC World Service with me, Leo Dunlop. History told
by the people who were there. If you've heard us before, feel free to skip on a few seconds but if you haven't, thanks for tuning in. We are the podcast that brings history to life in just 9 minutes. So if you enjoy this, please subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Now this is a story about a rock art discovery that would go on to change
That was the opening. The rest of the episode (9 min) is in the player: every word clickable, with translation, saved words and flashcards.
Continue in the playerAutomatically generated from the audio. May contain errors. Audio belongs to its publisher and is played from their feed. Rights holders can request removal — copyright & takedown policy