A trove of bones hidden deep within a South African
cave represents a new species of human ancestor, scientists announced in the
Journal eLife. Homo naledi, as they
call it, appears very primitive in some respects; it had a tiny brain, for
instance, and apelike shoulders for climbing, but in other ways it looks
remarkably like modern humans. When did it live? Where does it fit in the human
family tree? And how did its bones get into the deepest hidden chamber of the
cave, could such a primitive creature have been disposing of its dead
intentionally?
This story of one of the greatest fossil discoveries
of the past half century, and what it might mean for our understanding of human
evolution.
Chance
favours the Slender Caver
Two years ago, a pair of recreational cavers entered
a cave called Rising Star, some 30miles northwest of Johannesburg. Rising Star
has been a popular draw for cavers since 1960s, and its channels and caverns is
well mapped. Steven Tucker and Rick Hunter were hoping to find some less
trodden passage. In the back of their minds was another mission. In the first
half of the 20th century, this region of South Africa produced so
many fossils of our early ancestors that it later became known as the Cradle of
Humankind. Through the famous days of fossil hunting there was long past, the
cavers knew that a scientist in Johannesburg was looking for bones. The odds of
happening upon something were remote.
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