Scientists this morning have revealed the discovery of a new species of human relative, that they believe disposed of its dead deep in a cave and possibly even used fire.
Homo naledi is the latest addition to the human evolutionary tree and was discovered in the Cradle of Humankind, about 40 kilometres west of Johannesburg.
Naledi means star in Sesotho.
This latest find, believe scientists, is going to shake up that tree, as this species could have displayed behaviour that so far has only been seen in humans and Neanderthals.
Professor Lee Berger of Wits University, who led the team that made the discovery, revealed Homo naledi to the world this morning, at a press briefing at Maropeng, in the Cradle of Humankind.
Berger and the multinational team of scientists have been working on the find, since a single mandible was discovered in a remote chamber in the Rising Star Cave, in September 2013,
“What we have is a tall hominid, between 1,45 and 1,5 metres tall, was very skinny, had powerful joint muscles and had a brain about the size of my fist,” explained Berger in a pre-announcement briefing.
The scientists have so far excavated and analysed 1550 fossils retrieved from the chamber, which make up 15 individuals.
This makes it the single largest haul of fossils yet made on the continent of Africa. And scientists say there are more down there.
The mystery is how this hominid, ended up in the chamber, which has been named the Dinaledi Chamber, or “Chamber of Stars”.
The researchers have proposed that Homo naledi moved into the cave on purpose to dispose of their dead.
Berger said they had eliminated the possibility that the bones had arrived in the cave because of carnivore activity. He also said that the bones had not been moved by water or died in a singular event.
To get to the chamber, Homo naledi, explained Berger, would have had to have dragged their dead through pitch black tunnels. It is possible, he said, that they might have used fire to light their way.
Their findings have been described in two papers that have been published in the scientific journal eLife.
The initial discovery was made in September 2013 when two cavers exploring the Rising Star Cave system, came across a mandible. Two months later Wits University with National Geographic launched a three week long expedition to recover what initially was thought to be a single specimen. Volunteers small enough to climb down the narrow chute were recruited and used to do the excavation.
“We didn't know what we had. By day three, we realised it was not a skeleton, we had more than that, it was multiple skeletons,” Berger said. In the chamber, they found infants, adults and even the aged.
Homo naledi is unique in that it has a mix of primate and human-like features. The shoulders are similar to apes while the feet are distinctly human-like.
“Surprisingly, Homo naledi has extremely curved fingers, more curved than almost any other species of early hominin, which clearly demonstrates climbing capabilities. This contrasts with the feet of H. naledi, which are “virtually indistinguishable from those of modern humans,” said Dr William Harcourt-Smith of Lehman College, City University of New York, and the American Museum of Natural History, who led the study of Homo naledi’s feet.
He believes the feet with the long legs might have also made Homo naledi suitable for long-distance walking.
But as yet scientists don't know where Homo naledi sits on man's evolutionary tree as they have been unable to date the species as yet.
This is something, Berger said, that it being worked on.
Homo naledi, a new species of human relative from the Cradle of Humankind
Homo naledi is the latest addition to the human evolutionary tree and was discovered in the Cradle of Humankind, about 40 kilometres west of Johannesburg.
Naledi means star in Sesotho.
This latest find, believe scientists, is going to shake up that tree, as this species could have displayed behaviour that so far has only been seen in humans and Neanderthals.
Professor Lee Berger of Wits University, who led the team that made the discovery, revealed Homo naledi to the world this morning, at a press briefing at Maropeng, in the Cradle of Humankind.
Berger and the multinational team of scientists have been working on the find, since a single mandible was discovered in a remote chamber in the Rising Star Cave, in September 2013,
“What we have is a tall hominid, between 1,45 and 1,5 metres tall, was very skinny, had powerful joint muscles and had a brain about the size of my fist,” explained Berger in a pre-announcement briefing.
The scientists have so far excavated and analysed 1550 fossils retrieved from the chamber, which make up 15 individuals.
This makes it the single largest haul of fossils yet made on the continent of Africa. And scientists say there are more down there.
The mystery is how this hominid, ended up in the chamber, which has been named the Dinaledi Chamber, or “Chamber of Stars”.
The researchers have proposed that Homo naledi moved into the cave on purpose to dispose of their dead.
Berger said they had eliminated the possibility that the bones had arrived in the cave because of carnivore activity. He also said that the bones had not been moved by water or died in a singular event.
To get to the chamber, Homo naledi, explained Berger, would have had to have dragged their dead through pitch black tunnels. It is possible, he said, that they might have used fire to light their way.
Their findings have been described in two papers that have been published in the scientific journal eLife.
The initial discovery was made in September 2013 when two cavers exploring the Rising Star Cave system, came across a mandible. Two months later Wits University with National Geographic launched a three week long expedition to recover what initially was thought to be a single specimen. Volunteers small enough to climb down the narrow chute were recruited and used to do the excavation.
“We didn't know what we had. By day three, we realised it was not a skeleton, we had more than that, it was multiple skeletons,” Berger said. In the chamber, they found infants, adults and even the aged.
Homo naledi is unique in that it has a mix of primate and human-like features. The shoulders are similar to apes while the feet are distinctly human-like.
“Surprisingly, Homo naledi has extremely curved fingers, more curved than almost any other species of early hominin, which clearly demonstrates climbing capabilities. This contrasts with the feet of H. naledi, which are “virtually indistinguishable from those of modern humans,” said Dr William Harcourt-Smith of Lehman College, City University of New York, and the American Museum of Natural History, who led the study of Homo naledi’s feet.
He believes the feet with the long legs might have also made Homo naledi suitable for long-distance walking.
But as yet scientists don't know where Homo naledi sits on man's evolutionary tree as they have been unable to date the species as yet.
This is something, Berger said, that it being worked on.
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