Caves are the most universal form of human dwelling. This survey covers troglodytes and other cave dwellers, the physical origins of caves and the various uses made of rock shelters by man, both ancient and modern throughout the world. The story stretches from the Stone Age , three hundred million years ago, to modern times, examining many, now lost, cultures. The author looks at the varied, and sometimes bizarre, ways in which underground cavities have been exploited: from mushroom growing to guano gathering; from wine vaults to cabinet War Rooms in London and underground burrows used by Japanese soldiers in Iwo Jima during World War II. David Kempe is also the co-editor of The Petrology of Archeological Artefacts (Oxford University Press, 1983).