Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Long ago, people painted pictures on cave walls. They painted animals, dots, and hand shapes.
Scientists took small samples from cave walls in Spain and Portugal. They looked for tiny bits of old human DNA hidden in the paint and rock.
They tested 54 samples from 24 painted areas in 11 caves. Five samples had human DNA in them. One came from a red dot at the famous Altamira Cave.
Some of this DNA is 20,000 years old. Scientists say this does not tell them who painted the pictures, but it is still an exciting new way to learn about ancient people.
- cave
- a large natural hole in rock, often underground
- paint
- to put color on a surface using a brush or hands
- DNA
- the material inside living things that carries information about them
- sample
- a small piece taken to test or study
- scientist
- a person who studies the world using careful methods
- ancient
- belonging to a time very long ago
- wall
- the flat side of a room or cave
- test
- to check something carefully to learn about it
Level 2 — Elementary
Scientists have found ancient human DNA on the painted walls of caves for the very first time. In the past, this kind of DNA usually came from bones, teeth, or dirt found on cave floors, not from the art itself.
The research team studied 54 samples taken from 24 rock-art panels in 11 caves across Spain and Portugal. The panels included simple painted marks, hand stencils, and pictures of animals, including panels inside the famous Altamira Cave in Spain.
Out of the 54 samples, five contained ancient human DNA. One of these came from a red dot covered by a hard, mineral crust called calcite. This DNA belonged to people who lived in or visited the caves as long as 20,000 years ago.
The scientists were careful to say this does not prove they found DNA from the actual artists who painted the walls. Still, this new method could let researchers learn about prehistoric people without digging up the ground or removing artifacts from caves.
- prehistoric
- from a time before written records existed
- rock-art panel
- an area of a cave wall or rock surface that contains ancient paintings or markings
- hand stencil
- an outline of a hand made by blowing paint around it on a wall
- figurative
- showing a recognizable shape, such as an animal, rather than an abstract pattern
- mineral crust
- a hard, thin layer formed by minerals building up on a surface over time
- calcite
- a hard mineral that can slowly form crusty layers on cave walls
- excavate
- to dig carefully in the ground to find and study old objects
- artifact
- an object made or used by people in the past, kept for study
Level 3 — Intermediate
Paleogeneticists have, for the first time, extracted ancient human DNA directly from the painted surfaces of prehistoric caves rather than from skeletal remains or sediment. The findings were published on June 23, 2026, in the journal Nature Communications, marking a new source of genetic evidence in the study of early humans.
The research team analyzed 54 samples collected from 24 rock-art panels across 11 caves in Spain and Portugal, including panels within the renowned Altamira Cave. The sampled sites spanned a range of art styles, from simple painted marks and hand stencils to figurative depictions of animals.
Five of the 54 samples yielded positive results for ancient human DNA. One notable case involved a sample taken from a red dot that had become coated in a calcite crust, a mineral layer that appears to help preserve genetic material over long periods. The recovered DNA came from individuals who lived in or visited the caves as long as 20,000 years ago.
The study authors caution that recovering DNA from a painted panel does not mean they have identified the artist who created it, since many people may have touched or been near a wall over thousands of years. Ancient DNA survival on cave walls is uncommon overall, and the researchers found that mineral crusts and stable, protected cave conditions seem to improve preservation. The discovery opens new possibilities for studying prehistoric humans without excavating archaeological layers or removing artifacts from caves.
- paleogeneticist
- a scientist who studies DNA recovered from ancient organisms or remains
- extract
- to carefully remove or obtain something, such as genetic material, from a source
- sediment
- layers of soil, sand, or particles deposited over time
- genetic material
- DNA or other molecules that carry biological information
- figurative depiction
- an artistic representation that shows a recognizable subject, such as an animal
- preservation
- the process of keeping something from decaying or being damaged over time
- archaeological layer
- a distinct level of soil or deposits at a dig site that corresponds to a particular time period
- renowned
- widely known and respected for a particular quality or achievement
Level 4 — Advanced
In a methodological breakthrough for archaeogenetics, researchers have succeeded in extracting ancient human DNA directly from the pigmented surfaces of prehistoric cave art, bypassing the skeletal remains, dentition, and sedimentary deposits that have traditionally served as the field's primary genetic reservoirs. The results, published June 23, 2026, in Nature Communications, establish rock-art panels as a previously untapped biomolecular archive.
The team surveyed 54 samples drawn from 24 panels distributed across 11 caves in Spain and Portugal, encompassing an artistic range from rudimentary painted marks to hand stencils and fully figurative animal compositions, among them panels within the canonical Altamira Cave. Of these, five specimens yielded authenticated ancient human DNA, most notably a sample recovered from a red dot sealed beneath a calcite crust, a mineral accretion that the researchers argue functions as a protective, stabilizing matrix for genetic material over millennia.
Genomic signatures recovered from the panels trace to individuals who inhabited or passed through these caves as long as 20,000 years ago. The authors are notably circumspect in their interpretation, emphasizing that recovering a genetic signature from a painted surface cannot, on its own, be construed as attribution of authorship, given that a panel may have been touched, breathed upon, or approached by countless individuals across the millennia separating its creation from the present.
The persistence of biomolecules on exposed rock surfaces is, by the standards of ancient DNA research, exceptional rather than typical, and the study identifies calcite encrustation together with the thermally and hydrologically stable microclimate of deep cave interiors as key variables governing preservation. By demonstrating that genetic material can be sampled non-invasively from painted surfaces, the research opens a methodological pathway for archaeogenetic inquiry that circumvents the excavation of archaeological layers or the physical removal of artifacts from their cave contexts.
- archaeogenetics
- the study of ancient genetic material to understand human history and prehistory
- dentition
- the type, number, and arrangement of teeth, often studied in ancient remains
- biomolecular archive
- a physical source that retains molecules, such as DNA, useful for scientific study
- authenticated
- confirmed as genuine through careful verification
- mineral accretion
- the gradual buildup of mineral material on a surface over time
- genomic signature
- a distinctive pattern of genetic information that can be traced to an individual or population
- circumspect
- cautious and careful about the conclusions one draws
- non-invasive
- not requiring cutting, digging, or physical intrusion into a site or object
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