New Discovery...

In 2001, the Taliban destroyed two statues of Buddha in Bamiyan.  Behind the statues were caves that contained murals, many of which were damaged in the attack, exposed to the elements, very old and in much need of restoration.  Due to the publicity of the attack, researchers and restorationists moved in on the caves and made an interesting discovery.  I distinctly remember an art history class that firmly attested that oil painting was "invented" in Europe during the "Renaissance."  What researchers and scientists found was that these caves were home to even older specimens of oil painting.  The paintings that utilized poppy and walnut oils (among other things) pre-date the European paintings by a couple of hundred years.  I think this is yet another example of how much credit for innovation and invention is often given exclusively to Western origins until hard scientific facts change that perspective and open the lens to include other "non-Western" peoples.