Aboriginal artists have painted the Rainbow Serpent on cave walls or on pieces of bark. The earliest cave paintings found are about 8,000 years old. In special ceremonies, they sometimes honour the Rainbow Serpent by painting their handprints on the magic snake. Scientists believe the Rainbow Serpent stories began at the end of the last ice age. The rising sea levels would have forced a lot of people to move inland. The Rainbow Serpent became a symbol of both creation and destruction, and of unity and peace. This makes the Rainbow Serpent a symbol of the world's oldest continuing religion.