Tantalising trove of bones

THE claims staked on behalf of the ancestor species unveiled this week are as tantalising as they are audacious — they could rewrite evolutionary history. Homo naledi, a spellbound global audience was told, purposely disposed of their dead in a cave in the Cradle of Humankind. The cave yielded more than 1 500 bone specimens belonging to at least 15 individuals. By anyone’s reckoning, this is a significant discovery that will contribute to the human story. All kudos to Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand and the team of international scientists who worked with him.

The researchers examined and discarded an array of possible explanations for the presence of the skeletons in the almost inaccessible Dinaledi Chamber. These included that the remains could have been brought in by water or scavengers, or that their owners befell a calamity or even lived there a while.

Questions have, however, been raised by sceptics and rivals about the interpretation of the finds. The brain of the claimed new species is tiny and the remains are as yet undated, with researchers giving a possible range of three million to a few hundred thousand years old.

The only species other than modern humans thought to have possibly disposed of their dead — the Neanderthals — had large brains and went extinct only about 40 000 years ago. For such an ancient species as Homo naledi to manifest behaviour previously associated only with more modern hominins such as ourselves is breathtaking. It remains to be seen whether the scientific world will accept the proposition.

In the meantime, we salute Berger and his team for their extraordinary find — and for sharing it with such delight.