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Abstract
This article explains the impact of narratives built by rock art research on prehistoric caves located in the Maros-Pangkep Geopark area on local cultural identity. The history of recent research on rock art in Maros-Pangkep has concluded that the oldest art in the world was found in a prehistoric cave in this area. However, preserving rock art has its own challenges. This is related to the decreasing population of people who support the rock art tradition. The description of the narrative’s impact is based on literature studies of rock art research and field observations of local community activity related to it. Then it will also be explained how the results of ethnoarchaeological research on rock art are related to local community culture using Mary Jane Collier's theory (1980) regarding cultural identity. In relation to this, observations were made an from the pre-research communication process to the post-research impact and ultimately can produce an understanding in the local community of their cultural roots which are the pride of their cultural identity. The results of the study show that through narrative produced by research, it revealed strong relevance between archeology and community education at the rock art site. First, regarding the symbol of progress in archaeological research which is more oriented towards building collective memory and the involvement of local communities today. Then the second is about the benefit of archaeological remains in prehistoric sites for the lives of people now and for the future. This can be seen from the efforts of local people to commodify rock paintings in other media. Such as the handprint motif of rock paintings which is a decorative variety of local batik textiles and as a typical Maros-Pangkep souvenir for tourists.