Ancient DNA found on cave walls
Human DNA can survive on cave walls for thousands of years – shedding light on prehistoric human activity even where bones, sediments or artifacts are absent
For the first time, scientists have shown that ancient human DNA can survive for thousands of years on cave walls, opening new ways to study prehistoric human activity. This interdisciplinary study, published in Nature Communications, was conducted within the framework of the First Art project, which is led by researchers from Spain and Portugal in collaboration with institutions across Spain, Portugal, the UK, China and Germany. The First Art project aims to date the earliest cave art and to characterise its chemical composition. In collaboration with researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the team has now extended their analyses to include DNA analysis.
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