Professor Lee Berger, Research Professor in Human Evolution and the Public Understanding of Science in the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits University and team leader for the Rising Star Expedition, introduces Homo naledi.
On 10 September 2015 Wits University presented Homo naledi, a new species of human relative, to the world during an international launch at Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, some 40kms west of Johannesburg.
Within a deep and narrow cave in South Africa, paleoanthropologist Lee Berger and his team found fossil remains belonging to the newest member of our human family. The Homo naledi discovery adds another exciting chapter to the human evolution story by introducing an ancestor that was primitive but shared physical characteristics with modern humans.
Space-age exploration for Homo naledi fossils. Ashley Kruger, a PhD candidate in Palaeoanthropology at the Wits Evolutionary Studies Institute, roped in the use of high-tech laser scanning, photogrammetry and 3D mapping technology to map Homo naledi's Dinaledi chamber.
Caver Rick Hunter shows just how tight some of the tunnels are in the Dinaledi chamber of the Rising Star cave system.
Journey into the depths of the Rising Star cave system in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site where Homo naledi was discovered in 2013 by local cavers.
A virtual thorax reconstruction of the Homo naledi fossils.
Homo naledi scientists apply the principle of open access, the unrestricted online access to research. The first Homo naledi research was published in the open access journal, eLife, where anyone can access the scientific papers. Here Randy Scheckman, Editor-in-Chief of eLife, shares his thoughts on the discovery.
In 2013, paleoanthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-In-Residence Lee Berger made a remarkable discovery: While exploring the Rising Star cave system in South Africa, his team stumbled upon one of the greatest fossil discoveries in the past half century.
In part two, Lee Berger shares the story behind the recovery of the fossils and the incredible scientists who risked their lives to excavate the fossils in the cramped cave system.
In part three, Lee Berger shares some of the challenges his team faced in the effort to recover the fossils, and he discusses Homo naledi's significance in understanding human origins.