Scientists Pull Ancient Human DNA From Cave Walls for the First Time

Paleogeneticists have spent decades hunting for ancient human DNA in bones, sediments, and artifacts. Cave walls were not on the list. A study published June 23 in Nature Communications changes that, at least cautiously.

Researchers working within the First Art project, an interdisciplinary effort to date and chemically characterize some of Europe's oldest cave paintings, collected more than 100 samples from 24 rock art panels across 11 caves in Spain and Portugal. The sites ranged from simple painted marks and hand stencils to the famous figurative imagery of Altamira. <cite index="13-11,13-12,13-13">The team collected more than 100 samples from 11 caves, half from paintings and half from bare rock nearby. Five samples came back positive for ancient human DNA. Surprisingly, only one came from a painting, pulled from Escoural Cave in Portugal.</cite>

<cite index="13-9">The DNA recovered from cave paintings and nearby walls is at least 2,000 years old and probably much older, the researchers report in Nature Communications.</cite>

The source of the genetic material matters for interpretation. <cite index="12-4,12-5">Two of the positive samples showed no detectable faunal mitochondrial DNA, a rare finding that strongly suggests the DNA was deposited directly by humans through saliva or other bodily fluids. Three other unpigmented wall samples contained both human and faunal DNA, suggesting indirect deposition, likely via sediment transfer or water movement rather than direct contact.</cite>

<cite index="17-6">Human genetic material was also found in a pigmented calcite crust, suggesting that a person may have applied the pigment through direct touch or even by spitting it.</cite> That detail matters because spitting pigment onto a cave wall was a documented Paleolithic technique, one that would deposit saliva directly onto the surface.

Senior author Matthias Meyer, a paleogeneticist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, framed the result as a conceptual shift. <cite index="14-7,14-8">"This study fundamentally changes how we think about where ancient DNA can be found," Meyer said in a press release. "We were surprised to see that ancient DNA can be recovered not only from pigmented samples, but also from cave walls that show no visible evidence of past human activity."</cite>

Expert reaction outside the research team was measured. <cite index="15-8,15-9">"This pioneering study expands the boundaries of palaeogenetics by proving that ancient human DNA can persist on cave walls for thousands of years," said Enrico Cappellini, a paleogeneticist at the University of Copenhagen. "However, we must remain cautious, as authentic ancient human DNA was successfully recovered from only a few of the many rock art paintings sampled across the sites."</cite>

That caution is warranted. Five positives out of more than 100 samples is a low hit rate, and mitochondrial DNA, while useful for population-level ancestry questions, can't establish individual identity. The study also does not conclusively link the recovered DNA to the people who made the art. Someone passing through the cave centuries after the paintings were created could have left the same molecular fingerprint.

<cite index="10-1">As methods improve, cave walls could become an important source of evidence for studying prehistoric people and their use of cave spaces.</cite> The team's next step is to test more sites, particularly hand stencils, where the geometry of the technique raises the probability of direct skin contact. <cite index="16-9">"With further work, it may become possible to reveal the makers of at least some pieces of cave art, and to put faces, or at least genetic identities, to the artists who created them," the researchers write.</cite>

The paper, by Alba Bossoms Mesa and colleagues, was published in Nature Communications on June 23, 2026. The underlying work was conducted through the First Art project, a collaboration spanning institutions in Spain, Portugal, the United Kingdom, China, and Germany.

Sources cited:
- Nature Communications (via phys.org) (https://phys.org/news/2026-06-human-dna-survive-cave-walls.html)
- Science News (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ancient-human-dna-cave-walls)
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (https://www.eva.mpg.de/press/news/press-kits/2026/2026-06-24-1221-ancient-dna-found-on-cave-walls/)
- National Geographic (https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/ancient-dna-cave-walls-rock-art)
- Archaeology Magazine (https://archaeology.org/news/2026/07/01/human-dna-detected-on-cave-walls/)