Han Yuanyuan
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
Ancient poo from bats and birds can tell you what type of vegetation they were feeding on at that time.
The drawing found on silcrete stone in Blombos Cave.
Craig Foster
A new discovery adds to our existing understanding of Homo sapiens in Africa.
a katz / Shutterstock
And here's what to do once a future sinkhole has been identified.
Adul Sam-on (right) during the rescue operation.
Handout: Thai Navy Seals.
There are at least 400,000 stateless people living in Thailand – many of them young, like Adul. Here's what their lives are like.
EPA-EFE/Royal Thai Navy
The Thai cave rescue should be used as opportunity to improve the planning of all future rescue missions in South-East Asia.
Found after nine days. Now rescue plans have begun.
Royal Thai Navy/EPA
The looming prospect of a long stay in the cave has increased fears for the boys' mental health.
Neanderthal art.
P. Saura
Neanderthals, rather than modern humans, created the world's oldest cave paintings.
Deep inside Monte Kronio, hot, humid and sulfurous caves held an ancient secret.
Giuseppe Savino, La Venta Esplorazioni Geografiche
Growing grapes and making wine come with a lot of implications about a culture's capabilities. Apparently, Sicily of 6,000 years ago was more sophisticated than archaeologists had given it credit for.
Author Tom Iliffe leads scientists on a cave dive.
Jill Heinerth
Scientific fieldwork that happens underground and underwater in spectacular but dangerous caves opens a window on a largely unknown world.
Third-year archaeology student Dominic Coe replicates a painting of rhino based on the original image in France’s Grotte Chauvet.
Supplied
In an ideal world, students might visit original cave sites to see ancient paintings in their natural setting. This isn't possible, so the idea of an artificial cave set-up at a university was born.
A replica of a Homo naledi skull.
GCIS/Flickr
New evidence suggests that Homo naledi didn't deliberately deposit their dead in a hidden chamber.
Texas blind salamander.
John Perry/Flickr
A new project hopes to drill through the Earth's crust for the first time. But what beasties lurk deep beneath our feet?
The common grey silverfish, Ctenolepisma longicaudata, in Sydney.
Graeme Smith
Silverfish have disappeared from our homes as book-bindings - their favourite food - have improved.
Caves, such as Cathedral Cave at Wellington Caves Reserve, can tell a great deal about past climate.
Martin S Andersen
A new study looking at mineral deposits in caves is revealing insights into climate from the distant past.
The heritage of Africa’s Sibudu Cave needs to be preserved as development plans threaten the site.
Lyn Wadley
Africa needs to protect the Sibudu cave from development.
One of the stalagmites used in this study. The blue-green fluorescence is due to the light from the camera flash.
Stalagmites in Scottish preserve 3,000 years of climate history, suggesting human migration is linked to wet and dry periods.