Homo Naledi - New Questions On Human Evolution

A chance discovery in 2013 has raised serious questions about the trajectory of human evolution. This is the story of our very, very distant cousin, homo naledi.

Artwork: Ettore Mazza

Script & Research: Amanda Rossillo

Sources:
1. Berger, L. R., Hawks, J., de Ruiter, D. J., Churchill, S. E., Schmid, P., Delezene, L. K., … Zipfel, B. (2015). Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. ELife, 4(September 2015), 1–35.
2. Dirks, P. H. G. M., Berger, L. R., Roberts, E. M., Kramers, J. D., Hawks, J., Randolph-Quinney, P. S., … Tucker, S. (2015). Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. ELife, 4(September2015), 1–37.
3. Garvin, H. M., Elliott, M. C., Delezene, L. K., Hawks, J., Churchill, S. E., Berger, L. R., & Holliday, T. W. (2017). Body size, brain size, and sexual dimorphism in Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber. Journal of Human Evolution, 111, 119–138.
4. Feuerriegel, E. M., Green, D. J., Walker, C. S., Schmid, P., Hawks, J., Berger, L. R., & Churchill, S. E. (2017). The upper limb of Homo naledi. Journal of Human Evolution, 104, 155–173.
5. Kivell, T. L., Deane, A. S., Tocheri, M. W., Orr, C. M., Schmid, P., Hawks, J., … Churchill, S. E. (2015). The hand of Homo naledi. Nature Communications, 6, 1–9.
6. VanSickle, C., Cofran, Z., García-Martínez, D., Williams, S. A., Churchill, S. E., Berger, L. R., & Hawks, J. (2018). Homo naledi pelvic remains from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. Journal of Human Evolution, 125, 122–136.
7. Williams, S. A., García-Martínez, D., Bastir, M., Meyer, M. R., Nalla, S., Hawks, J., … Berger, L. R. (2017). The vertebrae and ribs of Homo naledi. Journal of Human Evolution, 104, 136–154.
8. Harcourt-Smith, W. E. H., Throckmorton, Z., Congdon, K. A., Zipfel, B., Deane, A. S., Drapeau, M. S. M., … DeSilva, J. M. (2015). The foot of Homo naledi. Nature Communications, 6, 1–8.
9. Irish, J. D., Bailey, S. E., Guatelli-Steinberg, D., Delezene, L. K., & Berger, L. R. (2018). Ancient teeth, phenetic affinities, and African hominins: Another look at where Homo naledi fits in. Journal of Human Evolution, 122, 108–123.
10. Dirks, P. H. G. M., Roberts, E. M., Hilbert-Wolf, H., Kramers, J. D., Hawks, Dosseto, A., ...Berger, L. R. (2017). The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South Africa. Elife, 6, 1-59.
11. Berger, L. R., Hawks, J., Dirks, P. H. G. M., Elliott, M., & Roberts, E. M. (2017). Homo naledi and Pleistocene hominin evolution in subequatorial Africa. ELife, 6, 1–19.
12. Hawks, J., Elliott, M., Schmid, P., Churchill, S. E., de Ruiter, D. J., Roberts, E. M., ... Berger, L. R. (2017). New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa. ELife, 6, 1–63.
13. Laird, M. F., Schroeder, L., Garvin, H. M., Scott, J. E., Dembo, M., Radovčić, D., ... de Ruiter, D. J. (2017). The skull of Homo naledi. Journal of Human Evolution, 104, 100–123.
14. Holloway, R. L., Hurst, S. D., Garvin, H. M., Schoenemann, T., Vanti, W. B., Berger, L. R., Hawks, J. (2018). Endocast morphology of Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 115(22), 5738-5743.
15. Berthume, M. A., Delezene, L. K., Kupczik, K. (2018). Dental topography and the diet of Homo naledi. Journal of Human Evolution 118, 14-26.

Disclaimer: Use my videos as a rough guide to a topic. I am not an expert, I may get things wrong. This is why I always post my sources so you can critique my work and verify things for yourselves. Of course I aim to be as accurate as possible which is why you will only find reputable sources in my videos. Secondly, information is always subject to changes as new information is uncovered by archaeologists.

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[StefanMilo]

Basically, basically, basically....thanks for watching!

Videos mentioned in the video:



Basically.

[Henry-epqy]

Sir, I’m not sure if you’re new to YouTube but please don’t link sources in the description. It makes it difficult for us to make baseless vitriolic claims in the comment section.

[gethinrees]

I find your presentation style so refreshing. Please don't become another clone! Keep up to good work.

[TheDeadlyDan]

What always comes to my mind regarding the Naledi is that we'd have never known of them except by this accidental discovery, even though this is one of the most heavily searched areas of the world for hominid traces. Makes me wonder how many other specie were there that disposed of the dead such that there would be no trace at all left.

[rarusnak]

It appears according to the latest excavations featured in a Netflix doc, that evidence of fires in the cave and a possible tool with one child skeleton. Hashtag-like grooved markings have now also been identified at the entrance to the Dinaledi burial chamber. Very interesting doc "Cave of Bones". Love your channel, Thanks Stefan!

[ElLenadorLA]

Cites 15 different academic sources and still says “I might be wrong.” Now THAT is refreshing. Polar opposite of all the pseudoscience garbage on YouTube. Great work!

[pallexa]

My father died in 2009. Every time there's a new discovery or advances in science it make me think " I wish he was alive to see this." Especially when they decoded the Neanderthal genome. Thanks for the great videos.

[scottparis]

Isn't this the cave for which they had to gather a team of physically tiny female who also had spelunking experience?
That's a pretty interesting story too.

[AtunSheiFilms]

Masterful placement of the mid roll ad. I can never get it right.

[TipOfAfrica]

I think it was after two years of studying Naledi thay they announced the discovery to the world here in South Africa which kinda gripped the country like no other discovery had in recent memory. They had the bones on display at Maropeng in The Cradle of Humankind. Hundreds of people turned up, some were really disappointed as they were expecting more than just bones. Just what they were hoping to see is beyond me...

[ProperZen]

Love your work Stefan. Always a treat to see a new video from you pop-up.

You do great research, provide the papers for us to read ourselves and you have a great wit.

[torbjornlekberg]

Sounds like burial to me.
It amazes me how much people, even scientists, underestimate the mental capability of creatures they dont yet fully understand.

[PeanutPotSauce]

I love how you keep showing these types of primitive humans who I never heard about before

[caseyjude]

The cavers were sent to explore the caves in the cradle of humankind to specifically look for homin or other remains. They only escavated a small area of the chamber, at the bottom of the chute, and they only went down about a meter. There are lots more remains in the chamber, including some where a stalactite developed on top of it. There’s way more than 1500, and it is so exciting!
Thanks for this video!

[KipIngram]

10:55 - Yes, this IS fascinating. It's like a modern mystery novel, only from ages ago. Totally captivating!

[jesserowlingsify]

No idea how I stumbled across your videos Stefan (started with the one on Azores) but they are fantastic. Great presentation style from you, awesome sense of humour and brilliant content. Ill just keep quietly binging these til I run out. This channel deserves way more followers.

[JT_Soul]

I would imagine that the cave was already quite an enclosed space or difficult to access when they were deposited there. If it had been easily accessible, then, regardless of how the bodies got there, they presumably would have been scavenged by carnivores after they were deposited.

[a-bloke-named-chris]

It's always interesting to speculate what customs and culture our hominid cousins and ancestors had. Great video, keep up the good work.

[JakeBaron]

I truly and wholeheartedly enjoy and look forward to all of your content. Please do continue to spread knowledge across the world. I and I’d assume many others, appreciate what you’re doing here.
Much love from Cananda

[pacificswell]

So many questions: did they have language that helped them hunt, gather food, and take care of their young? Also, their ability to walk upright (bipedalism) plays a major influence for brain growth, it gave them cognitive ability to forge for food, plan hunts, possibly cook meat, and socialization. There’s a lot to learn from our ancestors, so thanks for sharing, it’ll help us more understand how we evolved.