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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

A new species of ancient human relative [theguardian.com] has been found in South Africa, according to a National Geographic-funded team. However, others believe that the new specimens belong to Homo erectus and dispute claims of intentional burial of the dead:

The excavators recovered more than 1,500 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, one of the official languages of South Africa, and the primary official language of Lesotho. 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 1.5m years ago.

[...] Measurements of the bones show that the creature has a curious blend of ancient ape and modern human-like features. Its brain is tiny, the size of a gorilla's. Its teeth are small and simple. The thorax is primitive and ape-like, but its hands more modern, their shape well-suited to making basic tools. The feet and ankles are built for walking upright, but its fingers are curved, a feature seen in apes that spend much of their time in the trees. The findings are reported in two papers published in the online journal eLife.

[...] The Dinaledi chamber is extremely hard to access today, raising the question of how the creatures came to be there. They may have clambered in and become stuck, or died when water filled the cave. But Berger and his colleagues favour a more radical explanation. "We have, after eliminating all of the probable [scenarios], come to the conclusion that Homo naledi was utilising this chamber in a ritualised fashion to deliberately dispose of its dead," Berger said. The conclusion is not widely accepted by others. "Intentional disposal of rotting corpses by fellow pinheads makes a nice headline, but seems like a stretch to me," said Jungers. Zollikofer agrees. "The 'new species' and 'dump-the-dead' claims are clearly for the media. None of them is substantiated by the data presented in the publications," he said.

Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa [elifesciences.org]

Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa [elifesciences.org]

NOVA and National Geographic special, "Dawn of Humanity" [pbs.org] [1:53:07], premieres online Sept. 10th, airs Sept. 16th.

Original Submission