For the first time in history, researchers have successfully extracted ancient human DNA directly from cave walls. While their findings do not definitively connect ancient DNA preservation to the creation of cave art, they reveal that traces of human DNA can persist on cave surfaces for thousands of years.
Representative rock art from 11 sites analyzed by Bossams Mesa et al. Image credit: Bossoms Mesa et al. 10.1038/s41467-026-74234-2.
A significant challenge in human prehistory research is linking cultural artifacts to the groups that created them.
Ancient DNA studies have bridged this gap by analyzing DNA from skeletons, sediments, and increasingly, from the artifacts themselves.
However, rock art—crucial to understanding human culture—has typically eluded paleogenetic analysis due to its lack of direct connection to excavated cave floors.
This limitation has hindered discussions about authorship, including debates on whether Neanderthals were responsible for rock art alongside early modern humans.
“Some of the art was applied to cave walls by spraying or rubbing pigments onto the surface,” explained Dr. Hipolito Collado Giraldo, an archaeologist and rock art expert for the Extremadura government in Spain.
“Given the extreme sensitivity of current DNA analysis techniques, we aimed to determine whether this contact could leave DNA traces in the rock art, potentially revealing the genetic profiles of its creators.”
Dr. Corrado Giraldo and a team from Germany, Spain, and Portugal assessed the DNA preservation of pigment samples collected from 24 rock art panels in 11 caves across Spain and Portugal.
The paintings, primarily in red ocher, featured simple marks (from nine locations), dots, hand-drawn stencils (Cave of Maltraviso, Spain), and figurative images (Cave of Altamira, Spain).
The team also analyzed unpainted sections of the cave walls, sediments, animal bones, and bird bone fragments used for spraying pigments.
The most promising results were found in the Escoural Cave in Portugal, where samples taken from colored calcite shells unexpectedly yielded genetic material from one or more humans, with no animal DNA detected.
Similar findings emerged from the uncolored wall samples taken in the same cave.
Considering that sediments and environmental sources typically contain diverse animal DNA, the researchers concluded that the human DNA found in Escoural Cave likely originated from direct contact rather than surrounding soil.
Samples from Escoural and three unpigmented wall samples from Covalón Cave in Asturias revealed mixed human and animal DNA, indicating indirect routes of contact, like people transporting sediment on their hands and feet.
In Cobaron, genetic analysis of two wall samples linked their DNA to Western hunter-gatherers who lived in Europe approximately 5,200 to 16,700 years ago, showing probable female origins. Another wall sample from Escoural Cave indicated a male source.
Despite extensive research, usable ancient human DNA was recovered from only one of the 24 painted panels, and none from the airbrushed pigment of Altamira’s bird bones. This suggests that protected pigmented cave surfaces hold minimal detectable genetic material over extended periods.
Consequently, the study could not substantiate who created the paintings, including whether the DNA near the Escoural pigments belonged to the artist or resulted from unrelated human activity in the cave.
“While we cannot conclusively link the ancient human DNA found to the creation of rock art, this is the first evidence that human DNA has been preserved on cave walls for thousands of years,” noted Alba Bossams Mesa, a postdoctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
“It’s exciting to think we may have discovered a novel approach to studying prehistoric human existence.”
“This study fundamentally alters our understanding of where ancient DNA can be located,” said paleogeneticist Dr. Matthias Mayer of the Max Planck Institute.
“We were surprised to discover that ancient DNA is recoverable not just from pigment samples but also from cave walls with no visible evidence of prior human activity.”
“The preserved human DNA on cave walls exhibits significant diversity,” Bossams-Mesa shared.
“When this DNA survives, it tells a compelling narrative. While these initial findings are promising, our priority is to enhance our methods and identify conditions favorable for higher success rates.”
“This is just the beginning. We now understand that cave walls serve as genetic archives of past human existence,” Dr. Meyer confirmed.
“The next phase involves testing additional locations, art styles, and techniques that minimally invasive sampling allows, especially focusing on hand-painted stencils and figurative art in well-preserved caves.”
“With ongoing research, we may uncover the identities of some cave painting creators. It may even lead us to identify the faces, or at least the genetic profiles, of the artists behind these works.”
The findings were documented in a research paper published in Nature Communications on June 23rd.
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A. Bossams Mesa et al. 2026. Investigating ancient human DNA left on cave walls and rock paintings. Nat Commun 17, 5561;doi: 10.1038/s41467-026-74234-2
Source: www.sci.news
