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September 13, 2015

Homo Naledi: Mysterious New Human Species Emerges from Heap of Fossils

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The mix-and-match anatomy of the H. naledi bones is not the only puzzling aspect of this discovery, however. At other fossil sites in the Cradle of Humankind, fossils are encased in sediment and animal bones are found mixed in with the human remains.
The bones of humans and animals alike accumulate in the caves there through catastrophic events such as falling down a hole in the ground into an underground cave and getting trapped, or becoming dinner for the large carnivores that denned in the caves. But the Rising Star bones are not encased in sediment, nor do any remains of any vertebrate animals, apart from a few rodents and birds, accompany them. Given the absence of any evidence to indicate that Homo naledi fell or washed into the underground chamber or was transported there by a predator, the discovery team suggests that this small-brained human deliberately disposed of its dead. Furthermore, the location of the H. naledi bones in a chamber that appears to have always been lightless and difficult to access suggests that the humans went to great lengths to deliver the bodies there, and possibly needed an artificial light source (perhaps a simple torch) to do so. The behavior is important because it implies that H. naledi had, as Hawks puts is, “a shared cultural knowledge of mortality.” - Scientific American

Posted by gerardvanderleun at September 13, 2015 11:34 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

Your Say

If they'd kept on making inference on top of inference on top of inference a little while longer, we would have H. naledi being carried in a hearse escorted by a New Orleans marching band.

Posted by: BillH [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 13, 2015 2:24 PM

This is actually one of the most signifigant finds in recent years. Lots of anthropologists make their reputations with the find of about three bones. This is almost 15 skeletons. There is lots of interesting backstory.

Nat Geo sponsored the expedition:

"This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? Scientists have discovered a new species of human ancestor deep in a South African cave, adding a baffling new branch to the family tree." By Jamie Shreeve, National Geographic, September 10, 2015
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/

More stories about the women who actually went into a very narrow cave and brought the bones out:

"6 Tiny Cavers, 15 Odd Skeletons, and 1 Amazing New Species of Ancient Human: The inside story behind a spectacular new hominin find"
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/homo-naledi-rising-star-cave-hominin/404362/

Recruiting the cavers:

"'Small spelunkers required': the ad that led to the discovery of Homo naledi: The skeletons found in a South African cave were retrieved by six scientists with a hard-to-find combination of skills" by David Smith at the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa on Thursday 10 September 2015
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/homo-naledi-small-spelunkers-required-how-an-advert-led-to-the-discovery-of-homo-naledi

Posted by: Fat Man [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 13, 2015 7:07 PM

Nat Geo and Scientific American were taken over by the Watermelons back in the mid '70's. With either group, if it doesn't save the planet,they don't have much interest in it. 9Try watching the Nat Geo TV channel)

Posted by: Vermont Woodchuck [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 14, 2015 4:05 AM

Wondering how they know this isn't just an ape?

Posted by: Christopher Taylor [TypeKey Profile Page] at September 14, 2015 10:46 AM

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