HomonalediFACTSHEET
EMBARGOEDUNTILTUESDAY9May2017–10amSouthAfricanTime/4amEDT/9am
London/6pmSydney,Australia
QUESTIONSANDANSWERS
ABOUTTHELESEDICHAMBER
1)Whatdoesthename“Lesedi”mean?
Theword“Lesedi”means“light”intheSetswanalanguage,whichisoneofthelanguages
commonlyspokeninthispartofSouthAfrica.Theword“naledi”means“star”intheSesotho
language,andtheword“Dinaledi”means“stars”.
2)WhereintheRisingStarcavesystemistheLesediChamber?IsitneartheDinaledi
Chamber?
TheRisingStarcavesystemincludesmorethan2kilometersofmappedundergroundpassages.
TheLesediChamberisinadifferentpartofthecavesystemfromtheDinalediChamber,and
theshortestroutebetweenthesechambersis145meterslong,involvingmultiplesqueezesand
climbs,totallyinthedarkzone.
3)Howwerethefossilsfound?
RickHunterandStevenTucker,whodiscoveredthefossilremainsintheDinalediChamberin
September,2013,alsoenteredwhatwenowrecogniseastheLesediChamber,buttheydidnot
recognisethehomininremainsinthechamberatthattime.Later,astheteamcarriedout
fieldworkintheDinalediChamberinNovember2013,thesesameexplorerslocatedthefossil
homininremainsintheLesediChamber.TwonewfossilareaswithintheLesediChamberwere
discoveredbyHannahHilbert-Wolfduringgeologicalsurveyofthechamber.
4)Whoexcavatedthefossils?
ThefossilswereexcavatedbyWitsteamsofscientistsincludingformer“Underground
Astronaut”DrMarinaElliott.
5)HowdoestheexcavationteamreachtheLesediChamber?Isitashardtoenterasthe
DinalediChamber?
TheLesediChamberisapproximately30metersunderground.Toenterthechamber,theteam
usesapaththatgoesmorethan80metersfromthesurface,twistingandturningthroughthe
cave,withonetightsqueezethatonlysmallteammemberscanfitthrough,andsome
dangerousdrops.ThischamberisnotasdifficulttoenterastheDinalediChamber,whichcan
beenteredonlythroughthe18-cm(7½inch)-wideentrychute,whichisavertical12meter
(40-foot)climb.ButthefossilremainsintheLesediChamberareinasmall,crampedside
tunnelthatcanonlyaccommodateasingleexcavatoratatime.Itisaverychallengingsituation
fortheteamtoworkin.
THEFOSSILSFROMTHELESEDICHAMBER
6)HowmanyhomininfossilshavebeenrecoveredfromtheLesediChamber?
Theteamhasrecovered131fossilhomininspecimensfromtheLesediChamber.Byitself,thisis
oneofthemostproductivehomininsitesinAfrica.
7)HowmanyindividualsarerepresentedbythefossilremainsintheLesediChamber?
TheteamhasexcavatedhomininfossilremainsfromthreeareaswithintheLesediChamber.
Basedondifferencesbetweenadultandjuvenileskeletalremains,andtherepetitionofthe
samepartsoftheskeleton,thefossilsincludetheremainsofatleasttwoadultsandone
juvenileindividual.Fossilscomefromthreeseparateareaswithinthechamber,anditislikely
thattheminimumnumberisanunderestimate.
8)Whois‘Neo’?
Themajorityoftheremainsrecoveredsofarlooklikepartsoftheskeletonofasingleadult
maleindividual,designatedLES1.Itistraditionalinthestudyofhumanevolutiontoname
skeletonswhenwecanrecogniseindividuals,andthename“Neo”means“gift”intheSesotho
language,oneofthelanguagescommonlyspokeninthispartofSouthAfricatoday.Thename
resemblesacharacterfromthefilm,TheMatrix,however,thisresemblanceiscoincidental.
9)HowdoestheNeoskeletoncomparetootherskeletonsinthehomininfossilrecord?
Becauseofthepresenceofanearly-completeskullwithotherpartsoftheskeleton,thisfindis
trulyexceptional.Theskullandjawincludesfragilepartsofthefaceveryrarelypreservedin
otherfossils.Thepreservedpartsofthearms,legs,wristandhand,spine,andribsrepresent
everyotherregionoftheskeleton,exceptforthelowerlegsandfeet.Thetwothighbones
(femora)aresomewhatdifferentinpartsthatmaysuggestthatoneofthemcomesfroma
differentindividual,althoughifso,thetwoindividualswouldbeofverysimilarsize.The
remainsareamongthemostcompleteeverdiscovered.
10)HowdoyouknowNeoisanadultmale?
ThebonesandteethofNeoallindicatethathehadcompleteddevelopment,andtheteeth
exhibitconsiderablewear,showinghewasarelativelyoldindividual.Neo’sskullisabitlarger
thananyoftheskullsfoundintheDinalediChamber,andhasprominentattachmentsforthe
musclesofthejawandneck,whichtendstobetrueofmaleswithinhumanandotherprimate
species.
11)HowcanwebesurethattheskeletalremainsintheLesediChamberbelongtoHomo
nalediandnotsomeotherspecies?
H.nalediintheDinalediChamberisdistinguishedfromotherspeciesbasedonfeaturesacross
theskeleton,fromtheskull,jawandteeth,totheshoulder,hand,spine,pelvis,leg,andfoot.
SomeofthefeaturesofH.nalediareunique,whileothersoccurinapatternneverfound
beforeinotherfossilorlivingspecies.TheremainsfromtheLesediChamberincludeanearly
completeskullandjaw,alltheteeth,partsofthearmsandlegs,partsofthespineandribs,
femoraandpelvicremains.Thiswealthofevidencehasenabledtheteamtocarryoutsomeof
thestrongesttestseveraccomplishedforafossilskeletoncomparedtootherspecies.Allofthe
featuresoftheLesediChamberhomininsareconsistentwithH.naledi,andeveryotherspecies
canbeclearlyeliminated.
12)WhyaretherefewerhomininfossilsfromtheLesediChamberthanfromtheDinaledi
Chamber?
Theteam’sinvestigationofbothchambersisataveryearlyphase,andwedonotyetknowthe
totalnumberofskeletalremainsineitherchamber,butlesssedimenthasbeenaccumulated
andpreservedintheLesediChamber.
13)AretheDinalediandLesediHomonalediindividualscloserelatives?
UntilwemanagetoobtainDNAfromthesefossilsitwillbeimpossibletotestwhetherthetwo
groupsincludeclosegeneticrelatives.Allwecansayisthattheyareverymuchalikeandthat
makestheirrelatednessseemmorelikely.
14)ArethereotheranimalbonesfromtheLesediChamber?
TheteamhasrecoveredfragmentaryremainsofmanyanimalsfromtheLesediChamber.
Nearlyallofthesebelongtorodentsorsmallcarnivores,suchassmallcats,foxes,and
mongooses.WedonotknowiftheremainsoftheseanimalsenteredtheLesediChamberatthe
sametimeasHomonaledi,orwhethertheyenteredatothertimes.
ABOUTTHEGEOLOGICALAGEOFTHEFOSSILS
15a)Whatapproachdidtheteamtakeindeterminingthegeologicalageofthefossils
fromtheDinalediChamber?
Theteamdevelopedastrategythatinvolvedthreeseparatesteps.First,theDinaledichamber
wascarefullymappedandthevarioussedimentsandflowstonesinthechamberwereplacedin
astratigraphicorder;i.e.theorderofrelativetimingofthegeologicalunitsasinterpretedby
theresearchers.Usingthisstratigraphy,geologicalunitsbelowandabovethefossilremains
weretargetedfordating,sothattheageoftheunitcontainingthenaledifossilscanbe
bracketed.Thirdly,someofthefossilmaterial,namelythreeteeth,wasdateddirectly.Allthree
approacheswereconsistentwithoneanother,whichconfirmsourgeologicalinterpretations
andprovidesuswithconfidenceinthefinalresults.
15b)Whatdatingmethodsdidtheteamusetodeterminethegeologicalageofthefossils
fromtheDinalediChamber?
Theteamappliedsixdifferentmethodstodeterminetherangeoftimewhenthefossilswere
deposited.Twoofthese(radiocarbonandpaleomagnetism)donotplaceboundariesontheage
ofthefossils,althoughtheyaddsomeinformationabouttheageofthesedimentsinthe
DinalediChamber.ThemostinformativemethodwasESRdating(ElectronSpinResonance)
directlyuponsamplesofH.nalediteeth,whichwascombinedwithU-Thdatingoftheteeth.
Theteamalsomeasuredtheamountofuraniumandthoriumwithinsamplesofflowstonefrom
theDinalediChamber.Whereflowstonelayerslieabovefossilhomininremains,theageofthe
fossilsmustbeolderthantheflowstone.Inthisway,theminimumageofthefossilswas
constrainedto236ka.Additionally,theteamfoundsometinyquartzgrainswithinsomeofthe
oldersedimentsinthechamber,andusedamethodcalledOSL(OpticallyStimulated
Luminescence)toestimatethelengthoftimethosegrainshadbeenburiedinadarkplacewith
nolight.TheboundariesofthepossibletimethatthefossilsweredepositedcomefromtheESR
anduranium-thoriummethods.Theothermethodsgiveconsistentresults,andconfirmthe
interpretationofthegeneralstratigraphyinthechamber.
15c)Whydidittakesolongtoobtainadate?
IthasbeenverychallengingtodatetheH.naledifossilsaccuratelyforseveralreasons.
Firstly,whilstitispossibletodatethefossilsdirectly(andintheendwediddatethefossils
directly),thisisadestructiveapproachwhichweonlywanttofollowinexceptionalcases,and
onlyafterthefossilshadbeenfullydescribedandanalysed.Buteventhen,onlyfewdirect
datingtechniquesareavailable(inthiscasecombinedU-ThandESR),andthesetechniques
haverelativelylargeerrormarginsandtheyrelyonmodelassumptionssoeverythingneeded
tobechecked,preferablywithindependenttechniques.
Secondly,fossilscanbedatedbytargetingthesedimentsinwhichtheyareembedded.The
probleminthecaseofH.nalediisthatthesedimentsarenotyetconsolidated,andthatthereis
clearevidenceforrepeatedreworkingofthesedimentsincludingthefossils.Thismeansthatit
hasbeenextremelydifficulttodeterminetheexactcontextofthefossils.Therewerealsoa
numberoftechnicalissuesrelatingtothespecificconditionsinthecave(forexampleexcessive
radonlossinthesediments,andunknownsaroundtheburialhistorybecauseofthe
reworking),whichmadeithardtoacquirereliableages.
Thirdly,weusedalargenumberoftechniquesandadoubleblindapproachofsomeofthe
mostimportanttechniques,whichhasmeantthattheeffortsof10separatelaboratoriesin
Australia,EuropeandSouthAfricahadtobecoordinated.Someofthetechniqueshavelong
leadtimes,forotherscarefulcoordinationandsamplepreparationwasrequired.Thisin
combinationwiththetechnicaldifficultiesinthecavemeantthatittooktimetogetgood
results.
16)HowdoesESRdatingwork?
Thecrystallinestructureofenamelinteethisquitestableovertime,andcanbetargetedfor
dating.Afteratoothisburied,verylowlevelsofnaturalradiationintheteeththemselvesas
wellasthesurroundingsedimentsandgroundwatercausesomeoftheelectronsinthecrystals
tomovetoahigherenergystate,creatingsmallelectromagneticfieldeffects.Thestrengthof
theseeffectsbuildsupovertime.Inthelaboratory,scientistscanmeasuretheseeffects,and
usethemtoestimatethetimeatoothhasbeenburied.Thesecalculationsarecomplicatedand
requireassumptionsabouttheboundaryconditionsthataffecthowthelevelsofradiation
withintheteeth,andtoalesserdegreethesedimentsofthesitechangedovertime.Tohelp
constraintheboundaryconditions,theUandThvaluesintheteethweremeasureddirectly,
andthisinformationwasmodelledandcombinedwiththeESRcalculations.Finalagesusingthe
combinedESRandU-Thtechniqueswereobtainedforamaximumandaminimumage
scenario,withthetrueagefallingsomewhereinbetween.Tobesureoftheresults,the
measurementswerecarriedoutonthesameteethbytwoindependentlaboratories,sothat
resultscouldbecompared.Forthesereasons,therangeofuncertaintyinourestimateofthe
geologicalagefortheH.nalediteethisquitelarge.
17)DotheLesediChamberremainscomefromthesametimeperiodasthoseinthe
DinalediChamber?
TheteamdoesnothaveanyinformationyetfromthegeologyoftheLesediChamberthatsays
directlyhowoldthosefossilsare,buttheLesedifossilsareverysimilartotheDinaledifossilsof
Homonaledi,justassimilarashumanskeletonsfromasinglepopulation.Thissuggeststhat
bothchamberscontainindividualsthatmayhavelivedatroughlythesametime.Theteamis
workingnowtodiscovertheageoftheLesedihomininfossilstotestthishypothesis.
18)WhenintimedidthespeciesHomonaledioriginate?
TheindividualsofHomonaledifoundintheDinalediChamberlivedbetween236,000and
335,000yearsago.Theiranatomysuggeststhattheirancestorsdivergedfromtheancestorsof
modernhumansmuchearlierintime.SomescientificresultshavesuggestedthattheH.naledi
lineagemayhaveoriginatedasearlyas2.5millionyearsago,othersaslateasonemillionyears
ago.Thewiderangeofuncertaintymeansthatwewillneedtodiscovermuchmoreabout
otherprimitivemembersofourgenusbeforewecananswerhowlongH.naledimayhave
existed.
19)WhendidHomonaledibecomeextinct?
ThefossilsofH.nalediintheDinalediandLesediChambersalmostcertainlywerenotthelast
H.naleditohavelived.TheevidencecannotsayhowlongH.naledimayhavesurvived,andthe
teamdoesnotruleoutthehypothesisthatH.nalediwaspresentmuchlaterthan236,000
yearsago.
20)Whyisitimportanttofinda“primitive”homininatsucharecenttimeperiod?
Itwasoncecommonlybelievedthatno“primitive”speciescouldhavesurvivedtheintensifying
competitionfromlarger-brainedhumans,withtheiradvancedsocialandtechnological
behaviours.Recentdiscoveriesshowthatthisviewisfalse.Adiversityofhomininspeciesand
populationsexistedthroughmuchofthelasttwomillionyears.Verydifferenthomininforms,
somelikeH.nalediandH.floresiensiswithsmallbrainsizes,somewithcloserconnectionsto
humanssuchasNeanderthalsandDenisovans,continuedtoexist.H.nalediisimportant
becauseitshowsnotonlythesizeofthebrain,butalsomanyotheraspectsofskeletal
adaptationswerediverse.
21)Withsucharecentgeologicalage,isitpossiblethattheHomonaledifossilscontain
DNA?
TheteamhasattemptedtoobtainancientDNAfromtheDinalediChamberfossilsbutsofarhas
hadnosuccess.
21b)Theagerangeof236-335kaisstillverylong.Willyoubeabletoconstrainthisage
furtherinfuture?
Yes,workintheDinaledichamberison-going,andasmoregeologicalunitsarebeingdated,the
ageofthefossilswillnodoubtbefurtherconstrained.
21c)Youindicatethatthatthedatingwasdoneusingdouble-blindexperiments.What
doesthatmean?
Toensurethattheageresultsthatwehavepublishedarerobust,wehadseverallabs
independentlydatethesamesamplesusingthesametechniques.Thiswasdonewithoutone
labknowingtheresultsfromtheotherlabs.Weusedthisapproachforthetechniquesthat
weremostcriticalforobtainingadateforthefossils,namelyU-ThandESR.Theresultsfrom
thedifferentlabsshowedagreatdealofconsistency,meaningthattheageresultsare
reproducibleandthereforerobust.Sucharigorousapproachhasrarelybeenusedbeforein
datingfossildeposits.
HOMONALEDIANDHUMANEVOLUTIONINSUBEQUATORIALAFRICA
22)WhyisthesubequatorialregionofAfricaimportant?
Duringthepastmillionyearsormore,theregionsouthofthetropicalrainforestsofAfricahas
beenhometovastandcontiguousareasofgrasslands,savannas,andopenwoodlands,where
homininsmayhavelived.Likemanyotheranimalspeciesthatliveinsuchhabitats,modern
humanshavetheirhighestdiversityinsubequatorialAfrica.ThediscoveryofHomonaledi
suggeststhatthehominindiversityinthisregionwasevenhigherinthepast.
23)IsHomonaledia“relictspecies”?
Arelictspeciesisonethatremainsafteramorediversearrayofitsancientrelativesbecomes
extinct.FossildiscoveriesandgeneticevidenceshowusthatH.naledilivedatthesametimeas
manydiverselineagesofhominins,bothwithinsubequatorialAfricaandinotherpartsofthe
world.Today’speoplearethelastsurvivorsofthisancientdiversity.Inthatsense,modern
humans(H.sapiens)arearelictspecies.ItisnotclearwhetherH.naledialsohadmanyclose
relativesthatearlierbecameextinct,sowecannotsayifitwasarelict.
24)DoesHomonaledishowthatSouthAfricawasakindofbiological“culdesac”,
isolatedfromthemainstreamofhumanorigins?
No.Africasouthoftheequatorisoneoftheworld’smostbiologicallydiverseregions.During
thelasttwomillionyears,thesavannaandopenwoodlandhabitatsforhomininswerelarger
andmoreconnectedsouthoftheequatorthaninnortheasternAfrica.Agreaterdiversityin
subequatorialAfricaisevidentinthegeneticsofmanyanimalspeciesthatliveinthesehabitats
today.H.naledinowhelpstoconfirmthatdiversehomininpopulationsalsothrivedintheareas
ofAfricasouthoftheequator.Farfrombeingisolated,thisareanowlookslikethemainstream.
25)DoesthesurvivalofH.nalediindicatealongperiodofevolutionaryisolation,likethat
suggestedforH.floresiensis?
No.WhileFloresisanislandwithauniqueanimalcommunitythatevolvedinisolation,thisarea
ofAfricasharesmostofitsanimalspeciesortheircloserelativeswiththegrasslands,savannas
andopenwoodlandsoftherestofthecontinent.H.nalediisnotaproductofevolutionary
isolation.
26)WhereelsedidHomonaledilive?
TheanatomyofH.naledisuggestsitmayhavebeenwide-ranging,usinglandscapesintheway
thathumanshavedone.ButasyettheteamhasfoundevidenceofH.naledionlyinthesetwo
localities,andwehavenoevidenceaboutthefullgeographicareaitmayhaveoccupied.
27)DothesediscoveriesshowthatthegenusHomoevolvedinSouthAfrica?
Itistoosoontosaywhereourgenusmayhaveevolved.Tenyearsago,itwascommontohear
scientistsassumethatthegenusHomomusthaveevolvedinEastAfricaortheGreatRiftValley,
becauseoftheimportantfossildiscoveriesfromthatregion.Today,theprimitivenatureofH.
nalediandtheaccumulatingevidenceofdiversityofhomininswithinsubequatorialAfricanow
suggestthatthisdiverseregionmayhavebeenimportanttoourorigins.Butstill,fossil
evidencehascomefromonlyverysmallareasofAfrica.Onlymoreexplorationcananswerthis
question.
DELIBERATEBODYDISPOSAL
28)HowdidHomonaledigetintothetwochambers?
Afterintensiveexplorationandinvestigation,theteamhasfoundnoevidencetoexcludethe
hypothesisthatH.naledideliberatelydepositedbodiesintheDinalediChamber.TheLesedi
Chamberdiscoveryaddsyetanotherinstance,similarandformandcontenttotheDinaledi
Chamber.ThisappearstopresentfurtherevidencethatH.nalediwasusingtheRisingStarcave
systemforarepeatedbehavior.
29)Didallthefossilhomininsdieatthesametime,andwastheresomesortof
catastrophe?
TheoccurrenceofH.nalediskeletalremainswithintwochambers,farseparatedfromeach
otherwithnodirectundergroundconnectionandnoeasyconnectionfromthesurface,is
strongevidenceagainsttheideathattheywerevictimsofanysinglecatastrophicevent.
30)DidHomonalediburybodiesintheLesediChamberaswellastheDinalediChamber?
TheevidencesuggeststhatH.naledimayhaveusedboththeLesediandDinalediChambersina
similarway,asplaceswheretheydepositedtheirdead.Atsomeothersites,carnivoreskilled
andatethehominins,orthehomininsfellintoa“deathtrap”,ortheirremainswerecarriedor
relocatedbywaterandgravitywithincaves.TheevidencefromtheLesediChamberrulesout
allofthese,justastheDinalediChamberevidencerulesthemout.Itisareasonablehypothesis
thatHomonaledithemselvesenteredthecaveandusedthesechambersfordepositingtheir
dead.
31)Wasthecaveequallydifficulttoaccessinthepastasitistoday?
TheteamdoesnotyetknowhowdifficultitmayhavebeentoreachtheDinalediorLesedi
ChambersatthetimeH.naledilived.TheevidenceshowsthattheDinalediChamberwas
alwaysverydifficulttoenterandseparatefromneighboringchambers,andboththeDinaledi
andLesediChamberswerealwaysinthedarkzoneofthecave.However,someofthecurrent
squeezesandphysicalconstraintsthroughthecavesystemmayhavebeendifferentinthepast.
Butnotethatwiththerelativeyoungageofthefossils,theundergroundgeometryofthecave
systemswillnothavechangedasmuchaswouldhavebeenthecaseifthefossilshadbeenold.
32)DidHomonaledihavefire?
ItisareasonablehypothesisthatH.naledimusthavecontrolledfireinordertorepeatedlyuse
areasdeepwithintheRisingStarcavesystem.However,theteamhasnotyetconfirmedany
physicalorchemicalevidenceofancientfiresineithertheDinalediorLesediChambers.
ControlleduseoffireisknownfromothersitesinSouthAfricainexcessof1millionyearsago,
includingSwartkranswhichisjust800metersfromtheentranceoftheRisingStarcavesystem.
HOMONALEDIANDOTHERSPECIES
33)WheredoesHomonaledifitwithinthehumanlineage?
StudiesoftheskullandteethhavesuggestedtwopossiblescenariosfortherelationshipsofH.
naledi.Thespeciesmayhaveemergedneartheoriginofourgenus,Homo,aroundthesame
timethatH.habilis,H.rudolfensisandH.erectusfirstexisted.ThiswouldmakeH.naledioneof
aninitialradiationofourgenus,orpossiblyanancestororcloserelativeofH.erectus.Asecond
scenarioisthatH.naledimayactuallybemorecloselyrelatedtomodernandarchaichumans,
makingH.erectusamoredivergentbranchoftheHomofamilytree.Theevidencedoesnotyet
allowustoexcludeeitherofthesepossibilities.
34)DoestherecentgeologicalagemeanthatHomonaledicannotbeanancestorofHomo
erectusorHomosapiens?
SomepopulationsofH.naledilivedbetween235,000and336,000yearsago,butother
populationsmayhavelivedmuchearlier,assuggestedbythemanyfeaturesthatH.naledi
shareswithmuchearlierfossils.Itispossiblethattheseearlierpopulationsmayhavegivenrise
toeitherH.erectusorH.sapiens,orthesespeciesmayhaveemergedfromcommonancestors.
35)CanHomonaledishedanylightonthatotherrecent,controversialfossilspecies,
Homofloresiensis?
BothH.nalediandH.floresiensiswereprimitivespeciesthatexistedintotherelativelyrecent
past.TheteamworkingonH.nalediincludessomeexpertswhohavedirectlystudiedH.
floresiensis,andtheteamhasexaminedtheirsimilaritiesanddifferences.Mostly,thefeatures
thataresimilarbetweenthetwoareprimitiveanddonotindicateacloserelationship,while
eachofthesespecieshasareasofderivedanatomydifferentfromtheother.
36)IsHomonaledia“primitiveHomoerectus”?
No.AfewoutsideexpertsmadepublicstatementsimmediatelyaftertheannouncementofH.
nalediin2015thatthefossilswerenottrulyanewspeciesbutinsteada“primitiveHomo
erectus”.Theseclaimshavenotheldupunderscientificexamination.Sincethatoriginal
descriptionwaspublishedlessthantwoyearsago,hundredsofpagesofpeer-reviewed
scientificresearchhasbeenpublishedontheDinalediChamberfossils,bothbytheoriginal
teamandbyotherindependentresearchers.Allofthisscientificresearchsupportstheteam’s
conclusionthatH.nalediisauniquenewspecies.Noscientificarticleshavebeenpublishedthat
questiontheteam’sdescriptionofH.nalediasanewspecies.
HOMONALEDIANDTHEARCHAEOLOGICALRECORD
37)DidHomonalediusestonetools?
TheteamhasnotfoundstonetoolstogetherwiththeremainsofH.naledi.Studiesofitshands
suggestthatH.naledihadtheanatomyofacapabletoolmaker.Stonetoolsaremuchmore
commonthanfossilhomininremains,andareknownfromsouthernpartsofAfricafrom
roughlythesamerangeoftimethatH.naledilived.Butitisnotclearwhichhominin
populationsmadethosetools.
38)DidHomonaledicreatetheassemblagesthatarchaeologistshavepreviouslyascribed
tomodernhumans?
Thestonetoolsthatarecommonduringtheperiodbetween236,000and335,000yearsagoin
southernAfricaareattributedtothe“MiddleStoneAge”(MSA)setoftraditions.Archaeologists
haveoftenassociatedtheMSAtomodernhumansandtheirimmediateancestors.However,
veryfewmodernhumanfossilremainsareindirectassociationwithMSAinthisregion,and
nonefromtheearlyMSAtimeofH.naledi.Untilstrongerevidenceplacingfossilhominin
remainstogetherwithstonetoolassemblagesisdiscovered,wewillnotknowwhichhominin
populationsmayhavemadethesestonetools.
39)DidHomonaledimeetmodernhumans?
TheevidencedoesnotsaywhetherHomonaledimetmodernhumans(Homosapiens).The
earliestfossilremainsofmodernhumansarethosefromtheOmoKibishregionofEthiopia,
nearly200,000yearsold.Nomodernhumanfossilremainsareknownfromsubequatorial
Africaasearlyasthis.ItispossiblethatsomepopulationsofHomonaledicameintodirect
contactwithmodernhumansortheirancestors,butwehavenoevidenceatthistime.
40)DidHomonaledimeetarchaichumans?
ThefossilrecordsuggeststhatsomearchaichumanpopulationsexistedinsubequatorialAfrica
duringmuchoftheexistenceofH.naledi.ThisevidenceincludestheKabweskeletalremains
fromZambia,andtheFlorisbadskullfromSouthAfrica.Itisnotclearwhetherthese
populationslivedinthesameareasasthoseoccupiedbyH.naledi,whethertheywereindirect
contactwitheachother,orwhethertheymayhavemadesimilarordifferentstonetool
traditions.
INTOTHEFUTURE
41)WhatadditionalresearchisbeingdoneonHomonaledi?
TheteamcontinuestocarryoutresearchinthelaboratoryandintheRisingStarcavesystem.
SincetheinitialannouncementofH.nalediin2015,morethan400pagesofpeer-reviewed
researchhavebeenpublishedbytheteam,providingmoredetailedanalysisoftheanatomyof
mostpartsoftheH.nalediskeleton,moredetailonthegeologicalandtaphonomiccontextof
theDinalediChamber,andtestinghypothesesabouttherelationshipofH.naleditoother
homininspecies.Thatscientificproductivityisbeingcarriedforwardwithmorepaperssetfor
publicationthisyear,andnewresearchunderwayontheLesediChamberremains.
42)WhataretheprospectsforfindingmoreevidenceofHomonaledifromothersites?
TheteamhasbeensurveyingmorepotentialfossilsitesintheCradleofHumankind,andthere
areexcellentprospectsfordiscoveringmorenewhominin-bearingcaves.Wehopetomakean
announcementofexcitingnewnaledifossilsverysoon.Inaddition,itispossiblethatfragments
ofH.naledihavealreadybeenfoundatsitesinotherpartsofAfricabutnotrecognized.Areexaminationoffossilevidenceacrossthecontinentmayprovidemorediscoveries.