New research reveals signs of ancient human habitation in a vast cave beneath the Arabian desert. It may have been used as a waystation by Stone Age herders travelling from one oasis to another.
Calcite crystals formed in the Naracoorte caves.
Steve Bourne
Most of us see only the dry treeless plain and spectacular sea cliffs. But beneath the surface there’s a precious world of caves and unique species that could be lost without better protection.
South-west Australia relies on groundwater for three-quarters of its water use. But a new study of the region’s caves has found a drying climate is having a dramatic impact on this precious resource.
Beatriz Flamini may have set a new record for longest voluntary isolation.
Hajja Nuzha Al-Najjar in her cave-home in Masafer Yatta. In an oral history interview, she describes being shot in the leg by an Israeli settler in 2005.
Mahmoud Makhamra
The caves now serve as important safe spaces in an area designated ‘Firing Zone 918’ by Israel, as residents describe a growing wave of forced evictions and building demolitions.
As water dripped in a remote cave, it left behind evidence of every monsoon season for a millennium. Scientists say it holds a warning for a country about to become the most populous on Earth.
Cave-specific conservation and protection actions are essential to protect cave habitats for the continued survival of bats, and ultimately, the well-being of humans.
The author examining pictographs in 60th Unnamed Cave, Tennessee.
Alan Cressler
For thousands of years, Native Americans left their artistic mark deep within caves in the American Southeast. It wasn’t until 1980 that these ancient visual expressions were known to archaeologists.
Early humans called Denisovans lived in a remote mountain cave between 100,000 and 60,000 years ago, and possibly longer still, raising intriguing questions about their relationship to modern humans.
A bat in a cave among the poo.
Christopher Wurster