Caves

A cave painting of an extinct cattle species from Lascaux, France, with markings on its back.

Could These Cave Markings Be the Earliest Form of Writing?

New research proposes that symbols in 20,000-year-old cave drawings are a proto-writing system, but not all scientists are convinced

Vandals broke in to Koonalda Cave in South Australia and wrote a prank message over 30,000 year old art

Vandals Destroy 30,000-Year-Old Indigenous Cave Drawings in Australia

The perpetrators broke in to the cave and defaced some of the earliest known examples of First Peoples Rock Art

The cave once belonged to a wealthy Jewish family before becoming a Christian pilgrimage site

What's Within the Burial Cave Dedicated to Jesus' Midwife?

Archaeologists in Israel are excavating the site that was popular among pilgrims more than a millennium ago

A view of the Shanidar Cave in Iraq’s Zagros Mountains, where some of the charred plant remains were discovered

Neanderthals Cooked Surprisingly Complex Meals

Charred food remnants provide insight into 70,000-year-old dietary practices

John Volanthen (Colin Farrell), Richard Harris (Joel Edgerton) and Rick Stanton (Viggo Mortensen) in Thirteen Lives

The True History Behind Ron Howard's 'Thirteen Lives'

A new film dramatizes the harrowing attempts to save a group of boys trapped in a cave in Thailand in 2018

Cavers found the perfectly preserved mine in the small town of Alderly Edge in England.

Cavers Discover 200-Year Old Mine, Untouched Since the Moment It Was Abandoned

Found in northwest England, the cobalt mine is perfectly preserved due to a lack of oxygen

A different giant karst sinkhole at Leye-Fengshan Global Geopark in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. A new sinkhole was recently discovered in China earlier this month. 

Ancient Forest Discovered in Chinese Sinkhole

Researchers say the forest may contain small animal species unknown to scientists

A new exhibition in Marseille recreates the famous cave and the art found within. 

Tour a Submerged Cave Packed With Paleolithic Art—Without Ever Venturing Underwater

As sea levels rise, an immersive new exhibition in Marseille lets visitors explore an inaccessible cavern’s archaeological treasures

Archaeologists inside Cueva de Ardales

Artists Have Been Painting Inside This Spanish Cave for 58,000 Years

Archaeologists finally understand who decorated the Cueva de Ardales

Native American artists created the cave drawings sometime between 660 and 949 C.E.

3-D Scans Reveal Gigantic Native American Cave Art in Alabama

A new analysis identifies four life-size human figures and an 11-foot rattlesnake drawn on the ceiling of an unnamed cavern

Scientists tested 16 hearth locations inside Lazaret Cave near Nice, France, to determine how early humans used fire.

Why Early Humans Built Fires in the Center of Lazaret Cave

A new study suggests pre-Neanderthals carefully placed their hearths to minimize smoke exposure while maximizing room for activities

Researchers say the badger that found the coins was possibly digging for food or to make a nest.

Hungry Badger Digs Up a Trove of Roman Coins in Spain

Discovered near the animal’s den, the cache contains more than 200 coins from at least 1,600 years ago

Archaeologists unearthed the body of a female infant at a 10,000-year-old burial site in the Arma Veirana cave in Italy.

Baby Buried With Care 10,000 Years Ago Found in Italian Cave

The rare interment suggests that some hunter-gatherer societies imbued female infants with full personhood

Chemical analysis of stalagmites in nearby underwater caves indicated that extensive flooding caused the collapse of the Liangzhu culture.

Why Did This Chinese City of Canals Collapse in the Third Millennium B.C.E.?

New research suggests Liangzhu, "China's Venice of the Stone Age," was abandoned due to extreme flooding

Whether the ten hand and footprints constitute art is up for debate, scholars say.

These 200,000-Year-Old Hand and Footprints Could Be the World's Earliest Cave Art

Found at a hot spring on the Tibetan Plateau, the impressions were likely left by hominin children

The cave paintings are located in the Aravalli mountain range in northwestern India.

These Millennia-Old Cave Paintings May Be Among India's Oldest

Locals have known about the artworks for generations, but government archaeologists only began documenting them this summer

Researchers previously thought the cave was an 18th-century folly, or decorative structure constructed to enhance the natural landscape.

Deposed Ninth-Century King May Have Called This Cave Dwelling Home

New research suggests Eardwulf of Northumbria lived in the modified structure while in exile

The vestiges of two limestone tuberculosis huts can still be seen in Mammoth Cave.

When Tuberculosis Patients Quarantined Inside Kentucky's Mammoth Cave

In the early 1840s, believing the air was therapeutic, Kentucky doctor John Croghan ran a consumption sanatorium deep underground

Researchers say the incisors' removal may have served as an indicator of social status or membership in a specific group.

Why Are These Medieval-Era Skulls Found in Gabon Missing Their Front Teeth?

Intact, 500-year-old upper jaws discovered in an African cave bear evidence of deliberate facial modification

Using growth layers on the bear's skull, the researchers dated the remains at 35,000 years old and concluded that the cave bear was an adult around ten years old when it died.

This 35,000-Year-Old Skull Could Be the First Evidence of Humans Hunting Small Cave Bears

The hole in the specimen may have been from injuries inflicted with a spear or during a postmortem ritual

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