On 11 December 2019, a team of researchers led by Dr. Maxime Aubert announced the discovery of the oldest hunting scenes in prehistoric art in the world which is more than 44,000 years old from the limestone cave of Leang Bulu’ Sipong 4. Archaeologists determined the age of the depiction of hunting a pig and buffalo thanks to the calcite ‘popcorn’, different isotope levels of radioactiveuranium andthorium.[6][7][8][9]
Gandang Dewata National Park, with its core at and around Gandang Dewata mountain, forms the centre of province.[10][11]Karama River[12][13] andLariang River which rises inDonggala Regency ofCentral Sulawesi[14][15] goes on to form part of the border between Central Sulawesi and West Sulawesi and enters theMacassar Strait just past the town of Lariang,[16][17] are the major rivers which drain the province.Balabalagan Islands in Mamuju Regency are also part of the province.[18] The islands rest on acoral reef, itself placed on an undersea bank which extends out from Kalimantan, presenting a major hazard to navigation; theAdmiralty Pilot has warned that "No vessel should venture among [them] without local knowledge."[19][20]
The province now forms one of Indonesia's 84 national electoral districts to elect members to thePeople's Representative Council. TheWest Sulawesi Electoral District consists of all of the 6 regencies in the province, and elects 4 members to the People's Representative Council.[22]
Its population at the 2010 census was 1,158,651 increasing at 2.67% annually.[23] Of those 171,356 were classified as below the poverty line of Indonesia.[24] The official estimate as at mid 2023 was 1,481,077.[2]
There are is no rail transport, or national and state highways. The roads are mostly unpaved dirt tracks.Sumarorong Airport (Bandar Udara Sumarorong) at Sumarorong town in Mamasa Regency andTampa Padang Airport (Bandar Udara Tampa Padang) at Mamuju town in Mamuju Regency are 2 airport in the province. Other major airport nearby is theSultan Hasanuddin International Airport atMakassar inSouth Sulawesi Province.
^Law No. 7/2017 (UU No. 7 Tahun 2017) as amended by Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 1/2022 and Regulation of General Elections Commission No. 6/2023.
^"Jumlah Penduduk Menurut Agama" (in Indonesian).Ministry of Religious Affairs. 31 August 2022. Retrieved29 October 2023.Muslim 241 Million (87), Christianity 29.1 Million (10.5), Hindu 4.69 million (1.7), Buddhist 2.02 million (0.7), Folk, Confucianism, and others 192.311 (0.1), Total 277.749.673 Million
