Fahmi Alhayani June 12, 2016 Research Paper - Homo Naledi Probably the most remarkable thing about Homo naledi is how and where it was found. In 2013, two eagle-eyed cavers spotted human remains in a remote cave deep in the Rising Star cave system, just outside Johannesburg, South Africa. The chamber, nicknamed Camera Denaledi ("star chamber"), lies about 30 meters below the surface and is only accessible through more than 80 meters of often extremely narrow passageways. Berger himself was too numerous to access the fossils, so he assembled a team of scientists small and nimble enough to make the arduous descent. Berger's team found it to be the largest and most diverse assemblage of hominid fossils ever found in Africa. Homo nalediOne of the great controversies about Homo naledi is how the bodies got to where they were. The cave where the bodies were found is highly inaccessible. Four hypotheses about how the bodies got there were ruled out: occupation, water transport, predation and death trap. A new hypothesis has been formulated: what would happen if Homo naledi intentionally buried their dead? While there is not yet enough evidence to confirm this, such behavior would be significant as it would precede previous cases of the behavior in Neanderthals and humans. This would add to the argument that Homo naledi belongs to the genus (2015). The deep cave produces a new human. New Scientist, 227(3038), 89. Berger, L.R., Hawks, J., Ruiter, D.J., Churchill, S.E., Schmid, P., Delezene, L.K., . . . Zipfel, B. (2015, September 10). Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa. EVita, 4 . doi:10.7554/elife.09560 Bower, B. (2016). The debate on Homo naledi continues. Science News, 189 (10), 1213. Juskalian, R. (2016). Homo naledi and the Chamber of Secrets. Discover, 37 (1), 1011. Shermer, M. (2016). Murder in the cave. Scientific American, 314 (1), 75. Shreeve, J. (2015). This face changes human history. But how? Retrieved June 12, 2016, from news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910humanevolutionchange Stringer, C. (2015). The many mysteries of Homo naledi [image], Retrieved June 12, 2016, from