Recovering ancient human DNA from rock art and cave walls
Traces of ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, without accompanying faunal DNA, were recovered from a pigmented calcite crust overlying one motif at Escoural Cave (Portugal), and from an unpigmented wall sample from the same site. The absence of faunal DNA in both samples suggests deposition through direct human contact, which may include art creation. Three additional unpigmented samples, from Escoural and Covarón Cave (Spain), yielded mixtures of human and faunal DNA, consistent with indirect deposition. Our results show that ancient human DNA can persist on cave walls. However, establishing a direct link between the DNA and the creators of the art remains a significant challenge.
Traces of ancient human mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, without accompanying faunal DNA, were recovered from a pigmented calcite crust overlying one motif at Escoural Cave (Portugal), and from an unpigmented wall sample from the same site. The absence of faunal DNA in both samples suggests deposition through direct human contact, which may include art creation. Three additional unpigmented samples, from Escoural and Covarón Cave (Spain), yielded mixtures of human and faunal DNA, consistent with indirect deposition. Our results show that ancient human DNA can persist on cave walls. However, establishing a direct link between the DNA and the creators of the art remains a significant challenge.
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology