The evolution of Man, from Toumaï to Homo sapiensHomo naledi, a new species of hominid The origins of the Homo lineage in South Africa?It was not just a small piece of skull or tibia that was found… but hundreds of bones belonging to about fifteen individuals.Homo naledi is also a "mixed" creature, exhibiting both primitive and modern characters.The cave is located 30 kilometers from Johannesburg, South Africa, and has been known to locals for decades.Since the 1960s, the cave has been visited and appreciated by speleologists.2 years ago, they explored a gallery that was difficult to access and very narrow: to progress there it was necessary to put one arm forward and the other along the body (hence the name " Crawl of Superman” given to the gallery!).After several meters of crawling, they reached a larger room.Continuing their progression, they found a small gallery encumbered with stalagmites which fell abruptly to a new room 9 meters long.And it is in this last room, never explored, that they discovered hominid bones.Of course, they immediately contacted scientists, including paleoanthropologist Lee Berger.1550 bones were found on the floor of this last room, which is difficult to access because it is located after a free-falling gallery 12 meters high.The cavity contained nothing but human bones and sediment.No objects, tools or bones of other animals were present in this part of the cave.The skeletons correspond to about fifteen individuals, ranging from babies to the elderly, including adolescents and adults.The bones are extremely well preserved, including the bones of the ear, which is extremely rare.Moreover, the number of remains found is a real boon for researchers who will thus be able to establish the average characteristics of the species, according to sex but also its type of growth.The international team of researchers has begun to analyze this mass of bones and the first conclusions show that this new species has both primitive and modern characteristics.The wrist, hand and foot are relatively close to us and therefore resemble those of modern humans.On the other hand, the small size of the skull and the hips correspond to those of an early representative of the Homo lineage.The structure of the shoulders indicates that its owner was also adapted to arboreal locomotion… The bones are estimated, at most, at 2 million years ago.The mix of Homo naledi characteristics once again points to the complexity of the human family tree, but also addresses the need for researchers to understand the history and early origins of our species.For researchers, the discovery of Homo naledi will perhaps help to understand the transition between Australopithecines and the Homo lineage… This mixture of characters is perhaps one of the links that can complete the lack of fossils in our lineage .Professor Chris Stringer (Natural History Museum, London) says the location of the discovery of the bones, the deepest room in the cave, suggests the bodies were intentionally deposited by other hominids, which is a very complex behavior for a primitive human species.The researchers indicate that there are different hypotheses to explain this pile of bodies at the bottom of the cave.Either the bodies were intentionally placed here, or visitors to the cave found themselves trapped by some unknown event.If the first hypothesis is true, this simply indicates that a species of hominid practiced funeral rites… 2 million years ago.It should be noted that the researchers did not communicate any information on the dating methods used… it is even indicated in an article that the bodies could have been resting in the cave for 2 million years or 20,000 years… And in this case , the consequences would not be the same at all!To be continued, therefore, with new studies and a more precise dating!The fossils having been discovered in 2013 one could have imagined that before publishing all this morphological study the team could have tried to date the sediments, the bones or the cave... On the left reconstruction of the face of Homo naledi by National Geographic Society.For Chris Stringer "For me the fossils seem similar to the small bodies of Homo erectus found in Dmanissi (Editor's note Homo georgicus) dated - 1.8 million years"."The wealth of fossils of H. naledi compared to other species such as Homo rudolfensis, H. habilis, or H. erectus is such that we cannot compare certain bones missing in these latter species but present in H. naledi..." " If the fossils are 2 million years old, this species must be very close to the origins of the genus Homo.On the other hand, if they are less than 100,000 years old then they are rather survivors like the species Homo floresiensis,” he adds.For the paleoanthropologist Bruno Maureille “These fossils resemble individuals of the Homo genus much more than the Australopithecus type in terms of cranial morphology.If the date provided by Professor Lee Berger of 2.5 million years is correct, these fossils are among the oldest remains of the genus Homo.For the moment, there is no evidence that the individuals found date from this period.»"This can become a very important discovery, but it is the geological age that we can attribute to these specimens that will tell," says Professor Michel Brunet, who does not understand why study results are published while forgetting the dating.For Yves Coppens, the genus Homo should not be taken up... "The Homo in question is, of course, not a Homo, with the small head he has, but one more Australopithecus, just as he there have been many different species of pigs, elephants, antelopes, depending on the variations in climate and ecological niches.»CR Sources: – Elife – BBC – National geographic – DailyMail – Elife StringerAlso read 2006 Discovery of Selam, an Australopithecus afarensis in Ethiopia 2010 Traces of cuts on bones 3.4 million years ago push back the use of the tool to Australopithecus 2014 The mosaic evolution of 'Australopithecus sediba 2015 Cutmarks indicate tools were used 3.4 million years ago 2016 Australopithecines discovered in Kenya East of RiftFamily tree of hominidsYour email address will not be published.Mandatory fields are marked with *Save my name, email and site in the browser for my next comment.2022 RAN Archeology Book Grand Prizedna food art hunting dating tooth species europe evolution woman france engraving engravings cave genetics history man homo lascaux book mammoth furniture museum neanderthal neolithic bone tool tools paleolithic parietal why prehistory primate prehistory prehistoric sapiens burial theory traces evolutiondna food animals art bipedalism cannibalism bone dating dating species europe evolution family france engraving engraving cave genetics history man homo lascaux book mammoth furniture museum neanderthal neolithic bone hunting tool tools paleolithic parietal why prehistory primate prehistory prehistoric questions sapiens burial theory traces evolution