Scientists have discovered a new human-like species in a burial chamber deep in a cave system in South Africa. Scientists at University of Witwatersrand say the species, Homo naledi, may have buried its dead like modern humans.
Acting on a tip from Cave explorers two years ago, scientists in South Africa discovered what the explorers had only dimly glimpsed through a crack in a limestone wall deep in the Rising Star Cave: lots and lots of old bones.
Scientists unearthed more than 1,500 bones belonging to 15 individuals. It is not yet clear how skeletons – ranging from babies to elderly individuals – ended up in a remote region of a large cave. Bodies may have been disposed of deliberately, or a catastrophic ‘death trap’ scenario in which the humans got stuck are possibilities
The ages of the skeletons are yet to be determined although scientists say they could be anything between 20,000 and two million years old. The scientists said there was no sign the bodies had been brought to the room by any other cause but human contact.
“We explored every alternative scenario, including mass death, an unknown carnivore, water transport from another location, or accidental death in a death trap, among others,” said Berger. “In examining every other option, we were left with intentional body disposal by Homo naledi as the most plausible scenario.”
Interment of the dead, a characteristic the findings seem to show, indicates ritualised behaviour, traditionally thought to be a uniquely modern human trait.
This is a huge discovery that will help us understand human evolution on a detailed scale.
