rock shelters
Natural cliff cavities
Rock shelters are natural overhangs or shallow caves in cliff faces that provide protection from weather.
They differ from true caves in being open to the elements on at least one side.
Archaeological sites often occur at rock shelters because humans have used them for temporary or seasonal habitation across millennia: The rock shelter contained evidence of repeated occupation over thousands of years.
- cliff dwellingsHomes built into rockfaces
- abriDug-in protective recess
- pictographsSymbols depicting concepts visually
- prehistoricBefore documented civilization
- early humansAncient ancestral primates
archaeology · habitation · overhang · hand prints · stratigraphy · hunter-gatherers · Altamira · Lascaux · occupation · excavation · ledges · stone tools · flint · refuge · ochre · archaeological sites · ancient · petroglyphs
rock shelterscaves
Natural underground chambers
caverns · underground chambers · grottos · tunnels · mine shafts
rock sheltersopen ground
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