cavedwellers

Cavedwellers are beings that inhabit caves as their primary residence or regularly use caves for shelter, food storage, or protection from weather. The term applies to humans, historic or prehistoric, as well as to a wide range of animals and microorganisms that live in subterranean environments. Caves offer stable temperatures, high humidity, and protection from many predators, factors that have attracted organisms across taxa.

Human cavedwellers: Throughout prehistory, caves served as refuges and living spaces for Homo species, including Neanderthals and early modern humans. Some caves contained hearths, tools, art, and burial sites. In various regions, people have continued to inhabit or repurpose cave interiors into dwelling spaces, churches, or storage, with notable examples in karst landscapes such as Cappadocia and parts of Southeast Asia and North Africa.

Biological cavedwellers: Many animal species are cave-associated. Troglobites are obligate cave dwellers that spend their entire life in caves and often exhibit depigmentation and reduced or absent eyesight, while troglophiles can complete life cycles in caves and above ground, and trogloxenes visit caves but require surface habitats. Cave-dwelling microbes also contribute to subterranean ecosystems, cycling nutrients and forming unique communities.

Terminology and culture: The term cave-dweller overlaps with troglodyte, historically used for people who inhabit caves. In biology, related terms include troglobite, troglophile, and trogloxene. Cavedwellers are studied in disciplines such as archaeology, anthropology, biology, and speleology.