New species of ancient human discovered, claim scientists Homo naledi,

[Ichingcarpenter]

A huge haul of bones found in a small, dark chamber at the back of a cave in South Africa may be the remnants of a new species of ancient human relative.

Explorers happened upon the bones after squeezing through a fissure high up in the rear wall of the Rising Star cave, 50km from Johannesburg, before descending down a long, narrow chute to the chamber floor 40 metres beneath the surface.


The women recovered more than 1500 pieces of bone belonging to at least 15 individuals. The remains appear to be infants, juveniles and one very old adult. Thousands more pieces of bone are still in the chamber, smothered in the soft dirt that covers the ground.

The leaders of the National Geographic-funded project believe the bones - as yet undated - represent a new species of ancient human relative. They have named the creature Homo naledi, where naledi means “star” in Sesotho, a local South African language. But other experts on human origins say the claim is unjustified, at least on the evidence gathered so far. The bones, they argue, look strikingly similar to those of early Homo erectus, a forerunner of modern humans who wandered southern Africa 1.5 million years ago.

http://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/new-species-of-ancient-human-discovered-claim-scientists

[Judi Lynn]

1. Just Discovered: A New Human Species With Small Brains Who Buried Their Dead

Just Discovered: A New Human Species With Small Brains Who Buried Their Dead

An early human species uncovered in South Africa has shocked paleontologists with a mix of ancient and modern features. Researchers are sharply divided on the age of the new species, as well as how exactly it fits into the human family tree.

posted on Sept. 10, 2015, at 4:01 a.m.

Dan Vergano
BuzzFeed News Reporter

Fossils of a newly discovered extinct human species have emerged from deep in a South African cave, paleontologists reported on Thursday, describing a prehistoric pit intentionally filled with thousands of bones.

Discovered inside South Africa’s Rising Star cave, these newly discovered human cousins have been dubbed Homo naledi (nuh-LEE-dee), meaning “Star Man” in the local Sotho language, by the discovery team led by paleontologist Lee Berger of South Africa’s University of the Witwatersrand.

Berger formally announced the discovery on Thursday morning in a South African government ceremony.

“This is the first time we’ve found human fossils alone in a chamber like this in Africa,” Berger said on a press call Wednesday. Caving expeditions in 2013 and 2014 recovered some 1,550 fossils from a small stone chamber roughly 100 feet underground, he said.

More:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/danvergano/new-human-species