We already knew that human DNA nestled in ancient caves could survive the millennia. A new study published in the journal Nature Communications now shows that some of these molecular traces dating from the Western hunter-gatherer period (between 16,800 and 5,000 BCE) can survive directly on cave paintings. An advance which suggests that Neanderthals were also the authors of certain works decorating their habitats.
“This is the beginning of a new erasaid Genevieve von Petzinger, an anthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa. This offers us the possibility of‘identify the real artists, the individuals who created these works. It’s extraordinary.”
To reach this conclusion, a team of researchers from the First Art project dedicated to understanding prehistoric art took samples from around ten caves located in Spain and Portugal. The tiny paint chips were then carefully analyzed in the laboratory, as detailed in an article in New Scientist.
Rock art is often created by spitting paint or applying it directly to the walls with the hands. The archaeologists therefore looked for traces of human DNA in their samples. Their discovery is unprecedented. For the first time, ancient DNA has been found on the walls of a cave – and not in sediments, as in previous excavations.
However, scientists call for caution: it is still too early to attribute these molecules to artists. “DNA could have come from someone touching the drawings afterwards, or simply from someone sneezing», specifies doctoral student Alba Bossoms Mesa, from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany.
No precise dating
The samples taken also revealed the profile of the individuals from which they came: three women and one man. The quantity of DNA collected did not allow precise dating to be carried out. The researchers nevertheless have a chronological reference point: the Escoural cave, where several particles were extracted, was sealed around five millennia ago. The DNA found therefore predates this natural closure.
This study brings a new stone to the building of understanding of rock art. In early June, several researchers from the First Art project carried out sampling in other Spanish caves, including Nerja and Ardales, known to house works of art attributed to Neanderthals.
These excavations will perhaps help to lift the veil on several questions which divide specialists: “Were the artists men, women, or both? Were the animal drawings on the same panel made by a single artist? Can we find Neanderthal or Denisovan DNA? The potential is enormous», underlines Francesco d’Errico, CNRS research director in prehistory at the University of Bordeaux.
However, one reality dampened some hopes. Of 24 rock art panels analyzed, only one contained ancient DNA. Conservation therefore seems to be the exception rather than the rule. However, archaeologists remain hopeful. According to them, their ability to extract tiny quantities of molecules is refined as they increase the number of sampling campaigns in the caves. “These new discoveries offer us the opportunity to uncover and reconstruct entirely new stories, stories that will help us better understand the people and societies of the past»concludes Alba Bossoms Mesa.
