A Cave Sealed for 57,000 Years Has Revealed a Non-Human Secret

The cave had been closed off for tens of thousands of years. No modern visitor had walked in, touched the walls, or added a new mark. That is why what scientists found inside became so difficult to dismiss.

Inside La Roche-Cotard cave in France’s Loire Valley, researchers identified ancient markings on the walls that were not made by modern humans. The cave was sealed by sediment more than 57,000 years ago, before Homo sapiens are known to have entered that region, leaving one likely creator behind: Neanderthals.