18 July 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Scientists recreate Stone Age cave lighting

For early hunter-gatherer societies that were lucky enough to live near caves, these natural underground homes provided ideal protection from predators and competition, as well as protection from harsh weather.

Humans throughout the Paleolithic (30,000 BCE to 10,000 BCE) would spend a lot of time in these caves, preparing meals, making tools, and sleeping before venturing out to refill supplies the next day. They made a picture on the walls of the cave where they lived in their spare time.

Some hunter-gatherers may have employed lighting systems to illuminate their cave shelters, as evidenced by charcoal and paintings carved on the walls of deep passages where there was never any sunshine.

Researchers in Spain have now recreated three popular Stone Age lighting systems — torches, grease lamps, and fireplaces — as part of a new study to better comprehend what it may have been like to live and work in these surroundings.

“The artificial lighting was a crucial physical resource for expanding complex social and economic behavior in Paleolithic groups, especially for the development of the first palaeo-speleological explorations and for the origin of art in caves,” wrote Mariángeles Medina-Alcaide and colleagues in a new study published this week in the journal PLOS ONE.

Set of photographs of stone lamp experiment. photo: PLOS ONE.

Based on archaeological evidence found in several Paleolithic caves in southwestern Europe, the team produced five replicated torches made from resins of ivy, juniper, oak, birch, and pine; two stone lamps that burn animal fat, i.e. the bone marrow of cows and deer; and a small fireplace made of oak and juniper wood.

Each lighting system had specific features and drawbacks, prompting the cave dwellers to use them in different contexts. For example, wooden torches made of many sticks had a light intensity almost five times greater than a double-wing grease lamp. The torches lasted an average of 41 minutes (the shortest torch burned for 21 minutes and the longest torch burned for 61 minutes), making them ideal for cave exploration. The light emanating from the torch sheds light in all directions up to almost six meters, which makes them perfect for wider spaces.

The torches, on the other hand, required constant attention since they burned out quickly. To maximize oxygen flow and keep the torch burning, the handler had to continually wag the torch back and forth. Their primary downside was the amount of smoke they produced, which may pose problems in a cave’s narrower corridors.

Grease lamps are perfect for illuminating tiny places for an extended length of time. They produce light with a similar intensity to that of a candle, projecting light up to three meters. A bigger space might be lit by many of these lights. Due to their dazzling impact and inadequate floor lighting, the lamps were not well suited for transiting. They did, however, burn for well over an hour.

Examples of replicated paleolithic torche. Notice combustion marks left on the cave walls (B) and fallen remains from the torch on the cave floor (C). Photo: PLOS ONE.
Examples of replicated paleolithic torche. Notice combustion marks left on the cave walls (B) and fallen remains from the torch on the cave floor (C). Photo: PLOS ONE.

Finally, the scientists built a fireplace. This is arguably the simplest and most widely accessible lighting system available. Inside the cave, a smoky fireplace burned for only 30 minutes before being extinguished. Because of the cave’s air currents, fireplace illumination would be inappropriate for use inside a cave network.

This study is significant from a variety of perspectives, and it may throw insight into a variety of Paleolithic people’s behaviors. Scientists can only conjecture about how ancient people lived based on fragmented data, similar to following a trail of breadcrumbs because there are no written records.

For example, some stone age cave paintings are etched hundreds of meters deep in the cave. They may have used some combination of torches and lamps, and this lighting must have affected the artistic process by changing color perception. As the brightness decreases, the human retina loses sensitivity to short wavelengths (green, blue, and purple) as well as long wavelengths (yellow, orange, and red).

As a result, red is best seen in dim light. Color perception is also affected by the light’s color temperature; incandescent or warm light (between 1000 and 2000 K), such as firelight, emits a yellow hue, and colors look more vibrant.

“In any case, our experiments on Paleolithic lighting point to planning in the human use of caves in this period and the importance of lighting studies to unravel the activities carried out by our ancestors in the deep areas of caves,” wrote the authors. 

Related Articles

Itbaraks in Turkic Mythology: The Human-Bodied, Dog-Headed Beings Who Defied Oghuz Khagan

5 July 2025

5 July 2025

In the mist-shrouded realms of ancient Turkic epics, there exists a race that haunts both myth and memory—the İtbaraks. These...

An unknown human group is revealed in a 7,200-year-old skeleton discovered in Indonesia

27 August 2021

27 August 2021

According to a study released this week, archaeologists uncovered the bones of a 7,200-year-old skeleton from a female hunter-gatherer in...

Largest-Known Flower Preserved in Amber Is Nearly 40 Million Years Old

20 January 2023

20 January 2023

The largest-known fossilized flower encased in amber, dating back nearly 40 million years, was again discovered in the Baltic region...

1600-Year-Old Geometric Motifs Mosaic Found in Yavne

26 April 2021

26 April 2021

The Israel Antiquities Authority declared Monday that a 1,600-year-old mosaic discovered in Yavne, which archaeologists believe may have once graced...

The World’s Oldest Smiling Water Flask with Emoji will be on display

4 July 2021

4 July 2021

After the collapse of the Hittite Empire, the Late Hittite States was established in Anatolia and Syria. One of these...

Earliest Known Stone Mold for Coin Production in Roman Hispania Unearthed

27 March 2025

27 March 2025

Researchers from the University of Jaén have made a groundbreaking discovery at the archaeological site of Obulco, modern-day Porcuna, revealing...

When the waters receded, the mounds of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy, bearing the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, came to light

8 December 2021

8 December 2021

The important cultural areas of Pulur Sakyol and Yeniköy mounds, which bear the traces of Kura-Aras Culture, represented by kurgans...

A relief of a man holding his Phallus was found in Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler

18 October 2021

18 October 2021

In Sayburç, one of the Taş Tepeler in Şanlıurfa, a five-figure scene consisting of humans, leopards, and a bull was...

Computational Analysis Points to a Non-Traditional Garden of Eden Location – Beneath the Pyramids?

30 April 2025

30 April 2025

A radical new theory proposed by a computer engineer suggests that the biblical Garden of Eden may not be in...

Forged 5,000 Years Ago: The World’s Oldest Swords Discovered at Arslantepe Mound, Türkiye

10 June 2025

10 June 2025

In the arid plains of Eastern Anatolia, nestled along the western bank of the Euphrates River near Malatya, Turkey, lies...

Saudi Arabia’s “Gates of Hell” and Mysterious Structures

30 March 2024

30 March 2024

The region of Saudi Arabia, where the mysterious neolithic structures called the “Gates of Hell” are located, has around 400...

Archaeologists discovered 7,000-years-old Neolithic Settlement in the Czech Republic

31 July 2024

31 July 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a Neolithic settlement of about 7,000 years old near Kutná Hora, east of Prague in the Czech...

An archaeological dig at Govan Old Churchyard revealed a remarkable new find: an early medieval ‘Govan Warrior’ stone

19 September 2023

19 September 2023

An archaeological excavation in the churchyard at Govan Old Parish Church in Glasgow, a port city on the River Clyde...

South Ockendon’s Belhus Park Golf Course: A Tudor Garden Discovered

15 July 2021

15 July 2021

Under a golf course, the ruins of Tudor and Jacobean gardens were unearthed. Aerial images of Belhus Park Golf Course...

A new study reveals that “Bog Bodies” were part of a Millennia-old tradition

10 January 2023

10 January 2023

Archaeologists have studied hundreds of ancient “Bog Bodies” discovered in Europe’s wetlands, revealing that they were part of a millennia-old...