Source: Michael Lawrence / Getty
Scientists are claiming they’ve discovered a new member of the human family tree, revealed by a huge trove of bones in a barely accessible, pitch-dark chamber of a cave in South Africa. The creature depicts a mix of human-like and more primitive characteristics.
A spelunker found the bones, about 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg. There have been 1,550 specimens found at this specific site since its discovery in 2013.
The fossils represent at least 15 different people. Researchers even named the creature Homo naledi (nah-LEH-dee).
The name reflects the “Homo” evolutionary group, which includes modern people as well as our closest extinct relatives, and the word for “star” in a local language since the find was made in the Rising Star cave system.
The creature, which allegedly walked upright, represents a mix of traits. For example, the researchers said the hands and feet look like Homo, but the shoulders and the small brain recall Homo’s more ape-like ancestors.
According to Lee Berger, a professor at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg who led the work, naledi’s anatomy suggests that the species are 2.5 million to 2.8 million years old. On the other hand Berger said that the discovered bones themselves may be younger.
Berger also said researchers are not claiming that neledi was a direct ancestor of modern-day people, and experts unconnected to the project said they believed it was not. According to Rick Potts, director of the human origins program at the Smithsonian Institution’s Natural History Museum, who was not involved in the discovery, said that without an age, “there’s no way we can judge the evolutionary significance of this find.”
Besides the age of the bones, another mystery is how they got into the small area of the cave which is 7.5 inches wide. The researchers suspect the naledi may have repeatedly deposited their dead in the room, but it may also have been a death trap for individuals that found their own way in.
For more information click here
Text “LIGHT” To 37890 for your chance at ticket giveaways and news before anyone else!…Standard Messaging Rates Apply
