Caves

Some of the marks seen on the woman's skull predated her death, while others were likely left by natural forces following her burial.

Archaeologists Solve Mystery of 5,600-Year-Old Skull Found in Italian Cave

Natural forces moved a Stone Age woman's bones through the cavern over time

The newly discovered face cream represents the earliest known instance of a Chinese man using cosmetics.

This 2,700-Year-Old Chinese Face Cream Combined Animal Fat and 'Moonmilk'

Researchers found the ancient moisturizer in a nobleman's tomb

Humans once lived alongside megafauna such as this elephant bird, giant lemurs, dwarf hippos and giant tortoises on Madagascar.

Droughts and Human Interference Wiped Out Madagascar's Gigantic Wildlife 1,500 Years Ago

The species had survived droughts before, but human interference was the final nail in the mega-sized coffin

Los Machos rock shelter and schematic rock art panel

Fingerprint Analysis Reveals New Insights on Prehistoric Rock Art's Creators

Study suggests an adult man and a juvenile girl crafted the red ocher paintings seen at Spain's Los Machos rock shelter

The cave angel fish's unique pelvic shape was first documented in 2016. Its uncommon anatomy allows it to walk with all four appendages the way a salamander or a lizard might.

Study Finds Ten Species of Fish That May Have a Secret Talent for Walking on Land

The strange fish may help researchers envision the gaits of Earth’s first terrestrial vertebrates

"Human Forms" is on view through November.

Ancient Israeli Cave Transformed Into Art Gallery

For his latest show, artist Ivo Bisignano created a series of massive wooden sculptures that mimic the cavern's curvature

Polish explorers check a footage from a remote-operated vehicle deep in the Czech Republic's deepest cave.

World’s Deepest Freshwater Cave Is Twice as Deep as Previously Thought

New research shows the Hranice Abyss in the Czech Republic is 3,280 feet deep

Archaeologists discovered these fossilized fragments of grass deep inside South Africa's Border Cave.

200,000-Year-Old Bedding Found in South Africa May Be World's Oldest

New study suggests ancient humans slept on layers of grass and ash, which was used to ward off insects

A set of 120,000-year-old shells from the Qafzeh Cave in northern Israel. Ancient humans collected these shells, which had natural perforations, and arranged them on lengths of string.

New Research Suggests Humans Invented String at Least 120,000 Years Ago

Marks found on ancient shells indicate that they were laced together to create necklaces

Rock piles like the one pictured here helped ancient miners navigate the subterranean network.

An Underwater Cave Once Hosted the Americas' Oldest Known Ocher Mine

Humans have valued the rich red pigment for hundreds of thousands of years

This diagram shows the different kinds of animal bones used to make the 48,000-year-old tools.

Evidence of Early Bow-and-Arrow Hunting Discovered in Sri Lanka

If confirmed, the 48,000-year-old find will be the oldest known instance of bowhunting outside of Africa

The Fox tunnel is one of only two underground facilities dedicated exclusively to the scientific study of permafrost where a visitor can actually walk around inside the frozen earth.

In a Tunnel Beneath Alaska, Scientists Race to Understand Disappearing Permafrost

What lies inside the icy cavern seems more and more like a captive, rare animal, an Earth form that might soon be lost

Archaeologists say this inscription of an ibex may be up to 5,000 years old.

See Ancient Cave Art Found in Egypt's Sinai Desert

The carvings, which depict animals including camels, leopards, cows and mules, may date back to 3000 B.C.

A Jamaican fruit bat (Artibeus jamaicensis), one of the species that contributed to the guano researchers used to study the climates of the past.

Ancient Bat Guano Reveals Thousands of Years of Human Impact on the Environment

Like sediment cores, ice samples and tree rings, bat excrement can be used to study the climate of the past

Six humanoid figures with animal features surround an anoa, a small type of buffalo, in a 44,000-year-old Indonesian cave mural.

Newly Discovered Indonesian Cave Art May Represent World's Oldest Known Hunting Scene

The finding bolsters the idea that even 44,000 years ago, artistic ingenuity was shaping cultures across the Eurasian continent

The markings range from letters to shapes, patterns and symbols.

You Can Now Explore a 3-D Model of Cave Covered in Creepy 'Witches' Marks'

Visitors spotted hundreds of etchings designed to ward off evil while exploring a cave in England's Creswell Crags

Tiny Stone Tools Show Humans Hunted in the Rainforest 45,000 Years Ago

A 'toolkit' found in Sri Lanka adds to growing evidence that early humans inhabited many ecosystems, not just open grasslands

A park ranger gives the Obama family a tour of Carlsbad Caverns National Park in 2016.

3-D Map to Digitize Part of Carlsbad Caverns Down to the Millimeter

The National Parks Service is also compiling a modern cultural history of the caverns

The arrestingly modern hominin at the Neanderthal Museum, near Dusseldorf, is the work of renowned paleo-artists Adrie and Alfons Kennis.

What Do We Really Know About Neanderthals?

Revolutionary discoveries in archaeology show that the species long maligned as knuckle-dragging brutes deserve a new place in the human story

Cherokee syllabary inscription from 1.5km into Manitou Cave (average element vertical height approximately 80mm)

Cave Markings Tell of Cherokee Life in the Years Before Indian Removal

Written in the language formalized by Sequoyah, these newly translated inscriptions describe religious practices, including the sport of stickball

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