Discovery of bones of previously unknown species deep in a cave raises questions about origins of ritual burial, self-awareness

In a cave 100 yards underground near Johannesburg, South Africa scientists have discovered extensive remains of what they say is a previously unknown human species. WSJ’s Robert Lee Hotz reports. Photo: John Hawks/University of Wisconsin-Madison

Researchers in South Africa discovered extensive remains of a previously unknown humanlike species in a subterranean boneyard, highlighting an early offshoot of humankind and raising questions about the origins of ritual burial and self-awareness, the scientists said Thursday.

So far, the researchers have extracted 1,550 bone fragments belonging to about 15 individuals in what is likely the largest single discovery of early human remains in Africa. Thousands more bone fragments, from bodies stacked on top of each other, are still entombed in an inner chamber of the Rising Star cave system 30 miles from Johannesburg, they said.

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“These are pretty cool and pretty strange,” said Rick Potts, director of the Human Origins Program at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, who wasn’t involved in the project.

But no one knows yet just how old these remains may be. Conventional dating techniques so far haven’t worked.

“We understand that we are looking at something extraordinary,” said Lee R. Berger, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg who led an international team of 60 scientists and cavers. Dr. Berger and his colleagues announced the discovery of Homo naledi, as they named the new species, at a news conference on Thursday. Naledi means “star” in Sesotho, a local South African language.

They published their findings in the online journal eLife and in National Geographic, which helped fund the project.

Scientists discovered extensive remains of a previously unknown humanlike species in a subterranean boneyard

Part of a composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday; scientists say they have 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, showing a surprising mix of humanlike and more primitive characteristics.
Part of a composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday; scientists say they have …

 

An image from the University of the Witwatersrand shows the skeleton of Homo naledi at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa.
An image from the University of the Witwatersrand shows the skeleton of Homo naledi at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. JOHN HAWKS/WITS UNIVERSITY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

 

These fossils are among nearly 1,700 bones and teeth retrieved from a nearly inaccessible cave near Johannesburg. The fossil trove was created, scientists believe, by Homo naledi repeatedly secreting the bodies of their dead companions in the cave.
These fossils are among nearly 1,700 bones and teeth retrieved from a nearly inaccessible cave near Johannesburg. The fossil trove was created, scientists believe, by Homo naledi repeatedly secreting the bodies of their dead companions in the cave. JOHN HAWKS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

 

Fossils of a newly discovered ancient species, named ‘Homo naledi’ in honor of the rising Star cave where the species was found; Naledi means ‘star’ in South Africa’'s Sesotho language.
Fossils of a newly discovered ancient species, named ‘Homo naledi’ in honor of the rising Star cave where the species was found; Naledi means ‘star’ in South Africa’’s Sesotho language.SIPHIWE SIBEKO/REUTERS

 

Visitors examine the skeleton of Homo naledi Thursday during the unveiling of the discovery. Homo naledi is a combination of australopith-like and humanlike features that, until now, was entirely unknown to science, researchers said.
Visitors examine the skeleton of Homo naledi Thursday during the unveiling of the discovery. Homo naledi is a combination of australopith-like and humanlike features that, until now, was entirely unknown to science, researchers said. STEFAN HEUNIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

 

Professor Lee Berger kisses a replica of the skull of a Homo naledi on Thursday in south Africa.
Professor Lee Berger kisses a replica of the skull of a Homo naledi on Thursday in south Africa.STEFAN HEUNIS/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES

 

A photo from Wits University shows the lower jaw of the new human relative.
A photo from Wits University shows the lower jaw of the new human relative. WITS UNIVERSITY/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

 

South African Deputy President Cryril Ramaphosa, left, holds the skull of a new species along with Professor Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand at a media event in Johannesburg Thursday.
South African Deputy President Cryril Ramaphosa, left, holds the skull of a new species along with Professor Lee Berger from the University of the Witwatersrand at a media event in Johannesburg Thursday. THAPELO MOREBUDI /GCIS/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

 

A composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday
A composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday THEMBA HADEBE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

 

Parts of the skeleton of the homo Naledi stored in the Wits bone vault at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Parts of the skeleton of the homo Naledi stored in the Wits bone vault at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa JOHN HAWKS/WITS UNIVERSITY/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

 

Professor Lee Burger at the cave entrance where the fossil remains of Homo Namledi where found
Professor Lee Burger at the cave entrance where the fossil remains of Homo Namledi where found BRETT ELOFF/WITS UNIVERSITY/EUROPEAN PRESSPHOTO AGENCY

 

Part of a composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday; scientists say they have 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, showing a surprising mix of humanlike and more primitive characteristics.

Part of a composite skeleton of Homo naledi surrounded by some of the hundreds of other fossil elements displayed in Magaliesburg, South Africa, Thursday; scientists say they have 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, showing a surprising mix of humanlike and more primitive characteristics. THEMBA HADEBE/ASSOCIATED PRESS

Heightening the mystery, nobody knows how these creatures found their way through a lightless maze of narrow fissures into the cave’s inner sanctum 100 yards underground. The scientists found bones of males, females, children and infants scattered on the cave floor or embedded in its soft clay. There is no sign that they were dragged by predators, washed in by floods, or deposited in some fatal mishap. In fact, there is little evidence that any other life form ever reached the chamber.

“We can exclude the easy explanations,” said John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, a senior member of the project. “What we end up with is that they must have been putting bodies in there.”

If so, it raises the possibility that these creatures exhibited a reverence for their dead by giving remains ritual treatment and burial, which generally is considered a sign of self-awareness unique to humans and humanity’s closest relatives, the Neanderthals.

“It is another species—not human—yet it appears to be practicing a behavior that until this moment people thought was not only unique to us but perhaps identified us: the ritualized disposal of our dead,” Dr. Berger said.

Several independent experts in human origins said there was no direct evidence to support that speculation. “I don’t think Sherlock Holmes would conclude this was deliberate burial,” said Bernard Wood, a paleoanthropologist at George Washington University. “If it was, then everything we think we know about the evolution of human cognition is in the toilet.”

South Africa’s Rising Star cave system, where the bones were discovered, is located near a World Heritage Site called the Cradle of Humankind where many fossils of human predecessors have been found. It has long been a popular spelunking spot for amateur cavers, some of whom may have trampled the bones.

 

Fossils of Homo naledi are pictured in the Wits bone vault at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Fossils of Homo naledi are pictured in the Wits bone vault at the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. PHOTO: JOHN HAWKS/UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON

Virtual reconstruction of the endocranium of the larger composite cranium from DH1 and DH2 overlaid with the ectocranial surfaces.

(A) Lateral view. (B) Superior view. The resulting estimate of endocranial volume is 560cc. Scale bar = 10 cm.

 

Brain size and tooth size in hominins.

 

Virtual reconstruction the DH3/DH4 endocranial volume using a cranial base model of Sts 19.

Right lateral view.

The buccolingual breadth of the first maxillary molar is shown here in comparison to endocranial volume for many hominin species.H. naledioccupies a position with relatively small molar size (comparable to laterHomo) and relatively small endocranial volume (comparable to australopiths). The range of variation within the Dinaledi sample is also fairly small, in particular in comparison to the extensive range of variation within theH. erectus sensu lato. Vertical lines represent the range of endocranial volume estimates known for each taxon; each vertical line meets the horizontal line representing M1BL diameter at the mean for each taxon. Ranges are illustrated here instead of data points because the ranges of endocranial volume in several species are established by specimens that do not preserve first maxillary molars.

Maximum tibia length for U.W. 101-484, compared to other nearly complete hominin tibia specimens.Australopithecus afarensisrepresented by A.L. 288-1 and KSD-VP-1/1 (Haile-Selassie et al., 2010);Homo erectusrepresented by D3901 from Dmanisi and KNM-WT 15000;Homo habilisby OH 35;Homo floresiensisby LB1 and LB8 (Brown et al., 2004;Morwood et al., 2005). Chimpanzee and contemporary European ancestry humans from Cleveland Museum of Natural History (Lee, 2001); Andaman Islanders fromStock (2013). Vertical lines represent sample ranges; bars represent 1 standard deviation.

Not until 2013 did scientists learn of the fossil trove in the underground labyrinth.

In life, these creatures were long-legged, lightweight and lithe, standing a little over five feet tall, the scientists concluded. They had surprisingly modern hands and feet, yet a primitive flattened pelvis and a tiny brain barely one third that of a modern human. All in all, they seemed designed for striding with a modern gait and, possessing unusually long curved fingers, perhaps adapted for rock climbing as well, the scientists said.

“We had a combination of features that we had never seen in a single species before,” saidCaroline VanSickle, a biological anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin who helped analyze the bones. “It is just so weird.”

Most likely, the bones don’t belong to a direct human ancestor, but represent one of nature’s early experiments in the human form, experts said.

Several disputed the claim that the fossils belong to a new species. Jeffrey Schwartz, a paleo-anatomist at the University of Pittsburgh, said the remains are probably a mix of early human varieties, including a primitive species called Homo erectus that has been known for more than a century.

“A new species name is not adequately warranted for the Rising Star fossils,” said Tim D. White, an anthropologist at the University of California, Berkeley.

Ian Tattersall, a paleoanthropologist at the American Museum of Natural History in New York who wasn’t part of the research group, called it “an amazing assemblage of fossils that should keep paleontologists buzzing for a long time.”

Sources:

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