Almost Human exhibition showcases Homo naledi
YESTERDAY saw the highly anticipated official opening of the Almost Human exhibition, featuring the latest Homo naledi findings and, for the first time, showcasing the fossils of Neo.
Excavations have recovered two adults and an infant, all of whom fall within the range of variation known as Homo naledi.
Visitors can now get to see the material that was used to retrieve fragments of fossils of Homo naledi. With state-of-the-art facilities, the exhibition shows videos of when the scientists were working on the groundbreaking discovery of Homo naledi, going back to 2013.
On May 8, scientists released information that our most recently discovered relative, Homo naledi, was living between 236 000 and 335 000 years ago.
The dates came as a surprise to academics, placing Homo naledi on the African landscape at a time when early humans were beginning to evolve modern traits.
In a second research paper, the team, led by Professor Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand, announced they had discovered yet another chamber in the cave system separate from the first, containing abundant remains of Homo naledi.
Berger told The Star the thousand fossil fragments on display were just half of those discovered from the Lesedi chambers, which is still a work in progress.
Micheal Worsnip, the managing director at the Maropeng Cradle of Humankind, said that when Homo naledi was first shown to the world in 2015, the interest was phenomenal.
“The fossils were opening a win- dow into the puzzle of what it means to be human,” Worsnip said.
He added that it looked as though there has been some deliberate disposal of the species’ dead, and nothing else could explain the chamber’s collection of Homo naledi bones.