What they found was layered and cumulative.

The physical artifacts — torches, bowls, sandals, shells — were the starting point.

But the analysis went deeper.

Preserved human paleofeces — ancient solid waste — found in the cave contained pollen and plant material that allowed researchers to identify what the miners had been eating.

Analysis of that pollen suggested that people were visiting the cave primarily in the late spring through early summer, and again in the late fall through winter.

This seasonal pattern may reflect the rhythms of life above ground: periods when other subsistence activities were less pressing, or when the cave’s specific minerals were especially needed or especially accessible.