Homo Naledi, one of the most comprehensive finds ever.
Living close to the cradle of humankind has its advantages. When the good stuff is on display sometimes you get to go and see it for yourself. Bits and pieces have been discovered of at least 15 individuals with many bits and pieces of most bones of the body represented. This has allowed for a very comprehensive reconstruction of the species.
Here are some of the pictures I took of the original fossils. Unfortunately the general public only got to see these under glass which interferes with the photos.
On Wikimedia you can see professional pictures taken by the pros.
This virtually complete lower jaw was found lying on the surface of the floor of the cave when the hard to reach chamber was entered.
There are many sets of teeth this one virtually complete.
The scull reconstruction was a lot simpler in this case due to the large amount of preserved skull.
Due to the large number of finger and hand bones recovered the full hand can be reconstructed
Wow!!
Very cool!
I'm a bit confused by the skull. It looks either like a very gracile H. erectus with weak orbital bars, but having a chin; or H. sapiens with a very small cranial case. This is an amazing find that may connect the two. And shockingly complete!
Looking at the hand bones, their curvature reminds me of orang utan hands. Of course the common ancestor between the two would predate this by millions of years. I wonder what forces curved them so. Are they fused together? So many questions!
Okay, I had to do a bit of reading, but I found the species H. Naledi reminds me of, H. erectus georgicus. Note the vast variation, particularly in prognathism and braincase flatness. There's a tendency to call every new find a new species. I think this has more to do with fame than actual human variation thresholds.
where the fossil was found?
really awesome ..
great post @gavvet !!
I was about to ask the same question :)
The Rising star cave system... only a couple of km's from Sterkfontein, Kromdraai and Swartkraans cave systems.
Thanks!
Is a Homo Naledi a new species? I just first hear it from this post. But that is so great @gavvet
It is a new species, will put up more detail later this week
Thank You, Brilliant Photos ( and Detective Work)
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