An international team of cave explorers has shown that cave walls and the prehistoric rock art that adorns them can preserve human DNA for thousands of years. Using sterilized scalpels and two layers ...

A vast stretch of islands across the South Pacific holds one of the oldest human stories on Earth. For tens of thousands of years, people lived, migrated, and adapted across these remote landscapes.

For decades, small grooves on ancient human teeth were thought to be evidence of deliberate tool use—people cleaning their teeth with sticks or fibers, or easing gum pain with makeshift "toothpicks." ...