Wildfires have been a natural part of the Arctic’s boreal forest and tundra ecosystems. However, in recent years, their frequency and scale in the regions have increased.

Although the samples were collected in 2017, they were not dated until earlier this year. The painting is more than 5,000 years older than the previous oldest cave art — it was a painting of a wild pig, which was discovered in 2020 in Leang Tedongnge, Indonesia.