New species of human relative, Homo naledi, found in underground graveyard in Cradle of Humankind in South Africa

Circa 1,500 fossils were found deep in a cave system outside Johannesburg, hidden in a deep underground chamber only accessible via several steep climbs and rock crevasses.

Experts are uncertain how the “Homo naledi” remains came to be inside the cave, or even how old they are, but the discovery may help fill a crucial gap in the fossil record and shed light on how mankind evolved from ape to human.

The bones were first discovered in 2013 by Witwatersrand University (WU) scientists and volunteer cavers in the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“I am pleased to introduce you to a new species of human ancestor,” Lee Berger, a research...LEGGI TUTTO