Back in 2015 the Cradle of Humankind became the centre of the scientific world, with findings by the likes of Professor Lee Berger shedding new light on the history of the human race.

Now scientists have once again grabbed headlines, today announcing that they have made further discoveries inside of the Rising Star cave system, where Homo Naledi was first found.

A quick overview from the Daily Maverick before we get stuck in:

The research, consisting of three papers published in the journal eLife, firstly describes the age of the naledi fossils found in the Dinaledi Chamber, which they say is considerably younger than expected, suggesting homo naledi may have come into contact with modern man.

Second, it announces the discovery of a second chamber, Lesedi, in the Rising Star cave system, containing further specimens of homo naledi virtually identical to those first found in the Dinaledi chamber in 2015.

Third, it describes the discovery of remarkably well-preserved remains in the additional chamber, including a child and a partial skeleton of an adult male, with what the team calls a “spectacularly well-preserved skull” – complete enough to enable a facial reconstruction.

With a research team of 52 scientists from Wits, Australia, the US and a host of other institutions dotted around the globe, no stone was left unturned.

Let’s first hear about that adult male skeleton:

The skeleton was nicknamed “Neo”, meaning “gift” (Berger told Daily Maverick he would not be surprised to see some Matrix-inspired memes surfacing).

“To have a skeleton is just so beautiful. It is extraordinary,” he said. According to Berger, the skull is one of the most perfectly preserved ever found…

Good to see Lee is ready for the memes – internet, do your thing.

Since Homo Naledi was first revealed to the world, debate has raged about the notion that they disposed of their dead. Berger argues that the team’s latest findings put that debate to bed:

…the team is sticking to its guns. For one thing, says Berger, the sheer abundance of homo naledi fossils – including the extraordinarily well-preserved skeleton of Neo, one of the most complete skeletons of a hominin ever discovered, plus the remains of at least one child an another adult – raise the question of how on earth they got there. The absence of larger animal bones and signs of carnivore damage to the homonaledi fossils lends credence to the theory that they were not washed in by water or dragged in by animals, the team argues. They believe it is precisely its inaccessibility that makes the cave system a likely tomb.

The Lesedi Chamber (Setswana for “light”), third in the system, is over a hundred meters from the Dinaledi chamber. “What are the odds of a second, almost identical occurrence (of a body turning up) happening by chance?” asks researcher John Hawks (Wits/University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Thanks to advanced dating techniques, Berger says that Naledi lived around 224 000 and 236 000 years ago, which means there is a chance they lived alongside homo sapiens.

The significance, explains Berger, is that this primitive species, with its small brain, perhaps made contact with modern humans. “We see the archaeological signs in Southern Africa; the rise of modern human behaviour.”

There will, no doubt, be questions around the dating, but it appears the team is ready and waiting. The dating process was particularly challenging and was painstakingly undertaken, not least because the findings could have such controversial ramifications, they say. “It was done very carefully, once we realised this was going to be very young,” explains Berger.

I’d say small-brained, primitive species still walk this earth – hell, one of them is the president of America.

Berger says what is most exciting, however, is what is still left to discover:

Asked if he can think of a location offering a similar richness, diversity or explorative potential anywhere else, he struggles. Not really, he says. “Recently, the fossil hominin record has been full of surprises, and the age of homo naledi is not going to be the last surprise that comes out of these caves, I suspect,” he adds.

If you want to see these discoveries in person they will be on display at the Maropeng Visitors’ Centre, Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Centre, from 25 May.

Do it.

[source:dailymaverick]