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Ancient Footprints Discovered in Italian Cave

Published on 10 Jun 2026

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Ancient Footprints Discovered in Italian Cave
  • Footprints and handprints dated 14,000–14,400 years ago were identified in Grotta della Bàsura cave in Toirano, northern Italy. The traces belong to five Epigravettian hunter-gatherers — two adults, an 11-year-old adolescent, and children aged three and six — who explored the cave during the Late Upper Palaeolithic.
  • About 180 prints show crawling through low tunnels, the first fossil evidence of human crawling. The group used Scots pine twig torches for lighting. The study employed 3D modelling, laser scans, and other methods. A canid likely accompanied them. Research was published in eLife in 2019.
Source: SarkariPariksha