Earth:Rising Star Cave

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Short description: Fossiliferous dolomite cave system in Gauteng, South Africa

Rising Star Cave
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LocationNear Krugersdorp in the West Rand municipality of Gauteng province, South Africa
EntrancesMany
Hazardsnarrow access

The Rising Star cave system (also known as Westminster or Empire cave) is located in the Malmani dolomites, in Bloubank River valley, about 800 meters (0.50 miles; 2,600 feet) southwest of Swartkrans, part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa.[1][2] Recreational caving has occurred there since the 1960s.[2] In 2015, fossils found there two years prior were determined to be a previously unknown extinct species of hominin named Homo naledi.[1]

Names

In the 1980s, the names "Empire", "Westminster", and "Rising Star" were used interchangeably.[3]

The discovered species's name, homo naledi (using the Sesotho for "star"), and the "Dinaledi Chamber" (using the Sesotho word for "stars")[4] were so named by members of the Rising Star Expedition in reference to the species and chamber's location in Rising Star Cave.[1][4][5]

A portion of the cave, used by the excavation team en route to the Dinaledi Chamber, is called "Superman's Crawl" because most people can fit through only by holding one arm tightly against the body and extending the other above the head, in the manner of Superman in flight.[2][5]

The Superman Crawl opens into the "Dragon's Back Chamber," which includes an approximately 15-metre (49-foot) exposed climb up a ridge of a sharp-edged dolomite block that fell from the roof sometime in the distant past. This block is the so-called Dragon's Back, so named because the climbing route appears to progress from the tail to the head along the spiked spine of a mythical beast.[5]

History

Geologists think the cave in which the fossils were discovered is no older than three million years.[6]

The cave was explored in the 1980s by the Speleological Exploration Club (SEC), a local branch of the South African Speleological Association (SASA).[3]

Discovery of fossils in "Dinaledi Chamber"

A cross-section of a portion of the Rising Star cave system leading to the Dinaledi Chamber
An illustration of the Dinaledi Chamber, where H. naledi bones were excavated

On 13 September 2013, while exploring the Rising Star cave system, recreational cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker of the Speleological Exploration Club (SEC) found a narrow, vertically oriented "chimney" or "chute" measuring 12 m (39 ft) long with an average width of 20 cm (7.9 in).[2][5][7][8] Then Hunter discovered a room 30 m (98 ft) underground (Site U.W.101[9] or UW-101, the Dinaledi Chamber), the surface of which was littered with fossil bones. On 1 October, photos of the site were shown to Pedro Boshoff and then to Lee Berger, both of the University of the Witwatersrand.[7][10]

The arrangement of bones, as well as several survey pegs, suggested "someone had already been there" as recently as a few decades earlier.[2][5] The appearance of limited fossilisation initially led the explorers to think the bones were from the last caver into the chamber, who had subsequently never made it back out alive.[2]

2013 and 2014 excavations

Berger organized an expedition to excavate the fossils, which started on 7 November 2013.[10] The expedition was funded by the South African National Research Foundation and the National Geographic Society.[11][12]

The Dinaledi Chamber was assigned the designation UW-101 (or U.W.101[9]) and was excavated by the six "Underground Astronauts" (see below) of the Rising Star Expedition during November 2013. More than 1,200 fossil elements were recovered and catalogued in November 2013,[13] representing at least a dozen individuals.[14] Only 20 out of 206 bones in the human body were not found in the cave as of Summer 2014.[15] By April 2014, between two localities, 1,754 specimens were recovered.[16]

The layered distribution of the bones (in clay-rich sediments) suggests that they had been deposited over a long period of time, perhaps centuries.[2][5] Only one square meter of the cave chamber has been excavated; other remains might still be there.[5][11][17][18]

On 20 February 2014, Rick Hunter, Lee Berger, John Hawks, Alia Gurtov, and Pedro Boshoff returned to Rising Star to evaluate a second potential site. The site, designated UW-102 (or U.W.102, aka Lesedi Chamber),[9] was found by cavers Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker on the last day of the first Rising Star Expedition, and limited excavation began in April 2014.[16][19]

As of September 2015, fossils of at least fifteen individuals, amounting to 1,550 specimens, had been excavated from the cave.[1][2] About 300 bone fragments were collected from the surface of the Dinaledi Chamber, and about 1,250 fossil specimens were recovered from the chamber's main excavation pit, Unit 3.[5] The fossils include skulls, jaws, ribs, teeth, bones of an almost complete foot, of a hand, and of an inner ear. The bones of both old and young individuals, as well as infants, were found.[1][2]

The 15 partial skeletons, which were found in a small underground chamber, invite speculation on the circumstances of their location. Paleoanthropologist John D. Hawks, from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, who is a member of the team, has stated that the scientific facts are that all the bones recovered are hominin, except for those of one owl; there are no signs of predation, and there is no predator that accumulates only hominins this way; the bones did not accumulate there all at once. There is no evidence of rocks or sediment having dropped into the cave from any opening in the surface, nor any evidence of water flowing into the cave carrying the bones into the cave.[5][20][21]

Hawks concluded that the best hypothesis is that the bodies were deliberately placed in the cave after death, by other members of the species.[22] Berger et al. suggest that "these individuals were capable of ritual behaviour." They speculate that the placing of dead bodies in the cave was a ritualistic behaviour, a sign of symbolic thought.[23] "Ritual" here means an intentional and repeated practice (disposing of dead bodies in the cave), and not implying any type of religious rite.[6] This hypothesis has been criticised for its improbability.[24][25]

A study involving the statistical reconstruction of hominin evolutionary trees from skull and tooth measurements, originally indicated that the most likely age for H. naledi was 912 kya.[26][27][28]

The age of the original Homo naledi remains from the Dinaledi Chamber has been revealed to be startlingly young in age. Homo naledi, which was first announced in September 2015, was alive sometime between 335 and 236 thousand years ago. This places this population of primitive small-brained hominins at a time and place that it is likely they lived alongside Homo sapiens.

— Wits University 9 May 2017

A collaborative workshop involving 54 local and international scientists took place in May 2014 at the University of the Witwatersrand.[2][16][29] On 10 September 2015, the fossils were publicly unveiled and given the name Homo naledi.[1][5]

Dating

The fossils of the Dinaledi chamber have been dated to between 335,000 and 236,000 years ago, long after much larger-brained and more modern-looking hominins had appeared.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag In addition, Berger found evidence of extensive fire use in the cave, presumably to provide light.[30]

"Underground Astronauts"

A group of six women scientists initially excavated the cave. Because of the difficulty and danger involved in reaching the Dinaledi Chamber, the six were given the nickname "Underground Astronauts."[31] They had been selected by the expedition leader, Lee Rogers Berger,[32][33] who posted a message on Facebook asking for scientists with experience in paleontological excavations and caving. Specifically he needed scientists who were small and slender enough to crawl through very narrow spaces.[34] Within ten days of the post, Berger had received almost sixty applicants and chose six scientists to make up his expedition team.[35] Berger's use of social media to recruit early-career researchers for excavation and analysis drew some criticism. While his unconventional recruitment methods and transparency of documenting the process via daily blogs and radio won him the nickname "Mr. Paleodemocracy," some of his colleagues at the time thought the expedition "had more hype than substance".[36]

The six scientists had to pass through three points of difficult terrain in the cave to reach the bone chamber. The first is referred to as "Superman's Crawl," which required one arm held forward to pass, similar to Superman's flight. They then had to climb vertically up a rock surface, known as the "Dragon's back," and finally pass through a slender opening[37][38] and descend 30 meters into the Dinaledi chamber.[37][35][36]

The team was composed of:

  • Hannah Morris, archaeologist.
  • Alia Gurtov is a University of Wisconsin – Madison Ph.D. candidate researching the effects of seasonality on hominin foraging at Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania.
  • Marina Elliott is originally from Calgary, Canada, and has a master's degree in biological anthropology from Simon Fraser University, Canada.
  • Elen Feuerriegel, then a PhD candidate at the Australian National University, studying shoulder biomechanics with Colin Groves in Oldowan stone tool manufacture.
  • Becca Peixotto is an archaeologist and Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at American University in Washington, D.C.[39]
  • K. Lindsay (née Eaves) Hunter is a biological anthropologist and currently serves as the Community Engagement and Advancement Director for CARTA, the UC San Diego/Salk Center for Academic Research & Training in Anthropogeny, in La Jolla, CA. Following the 2013 expedition, Lindsay married Rick Hunter, one of the co-discoverers of Homo naledi.[39][40]

Geology

The Rising Star cave system lies in the Bloubank River valley, 2.2 km west of Sterkfontein Cave. It comprises an area of 250 × 150 m of mapped passageways situated in the core of a gently west-dipping (17°) open fold, and it is stratigraphically bound to a 15–20-metre-thick, stromatolitic dolomite horizon in the lower parts of the Monte Christo Formation. This dolomite horizon is largely chert-free but contains five thin (<10 cm) chert marker horizons that have been used to evaluate the relative position of chambers within the system. The upper contact is marked by a 1–1.3-metre-thick, capping chert unit that forms the roof of several large cave chambers.[5] The height above sea level is 1,450 m for the Dinaledi Chamber's floor.[41]

See also

  • Unknown: Cave of Bones[42] (2023 Netflix documentary)
  • Dawn of Humanity (2015 PBS film)
  • Gondolin Cave

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Berger, Lee R. (10 September 2015). "Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.09560. PMID 26354291. 
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Shreeve, Jamie (10 September 2015). "This Face Changes the Human Story. But How?". National Geographic News. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/150910-human-evolution-change. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Paul Courbon (1989). Atlas of the Great Caves of the World. Cave Books. p. 38. ISBN 0-939748-21-5. "Empire Cave [Western Transvaal]: 4010 m; Empire/Westminster/Rising Star Cave. Explored by SASA and Free Cavers" 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Sesotho dinaledi is a class 10 plural noun built on the class 9 noun naledi "star" (Bukantswe v.3 dictionary).
  5. ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 5.10 Dirks, Paul H. G. M.Expression error: Unrecognized word "et". (2015). "Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.09561. ISSN 2050-084X. PMID 26354289. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wilford, John Noble (10 September 2015). "New Species in Human Lineage Is Found in a South African Cave". New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/science/south-africa-fossils-new-species-human-ancestor-homo-naledi.html. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Tucker, Steven (13 November 2013). "Rising Star Expedition". Speleological Exploration Club. http://www.sec-caving.co.za/2013/11/rising-star-expedition.html. 
  8. ↑ André Doussy. "SEC-Caving: Rising Star Expedition Finds over 1,000 Hominid Fossils". sec-caving.co.za. http://www.sec-caving.co.za/2014/07/rising-star-expedition-finds-over-1000.html. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 John Hawks, Marina Elliott, Peter Schmid, Steven E. Churchill et al.: New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa. In: eLife Sciences 6. May 2017. Projects: Taphonomic analysis of the Rising Star hominin assemblage; Homo naledi and Australopithecus sediba. doi:10.7554/eLife.24232. Fig. 2
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Yong, Ed (10 September 2015). "6 Tiny Cavers, 15 Odd Skeletons, and 1 Amazing New Species of Ancient Human". The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/09/homo-naledi-rising-star-cave-hominin/404362/. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Greenfieldboyce, Nell (10 September 2015). "South African Cave Yields Strange Bones Of Early Human-Like Species". NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2015/09/10/437249183/south-african-cave-yields-strange-bones-of-early-human-like-species. 
  12. ↑ "Rising Star Expedition - National Geographic (blogs)". nationalgeographic.com. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/blog/rising-star-expedition/?order=asc. 
  13. ↑ Andrew Howley. "Final Day of Excavations". nationalgeographic.com. http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/11/27/final-day-of-excavations/. 
  14. ↑ "Anthropologist, 'underground astronaut' strike fossil gold in South Africa dig". http://www.news.wisc.edu/22375. 
  15. ↑ "Anthropology Prof. John Hawks and UW-Madison students dig up crucial remnants of early hominids". http://www.isthmus.com/isthmus/article.php?article=43599. 
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Lee R. Berger. "Rising Star Empire Cave 2014 Annual Report". http://www.sahra.org.za/sahris/heritage-reports/rising-star-empire-cave-2014-annual-report. 
  17. ↑ Alford, Justine (10 September 2015). "New Species Of Human Discovered In South Africa". http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/newly-discovered-human-ancestor-likely-ritualistically-disposed-its-dead. 
  18. ↑ Shreeve, Jamie (10 September 2015). "New Human Ancestor Elicits Awe—and Many Questions". National Geographic Society. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-homo-naledi-human-ancestor-species-reaction-science/. 
  19. ↑ Hawks, John. "Scientists Return to Explore a Second Fossil Chamber". http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2014/02/20/scientists-return-to-explore-a-second-fossil-chamber/. 
  20. ↑ Drake, Nadia (15 September 2015). "Mystery Lingers Over Ritual Behavior of New Human Ancestor". National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150915-humans-death-burial-anthropology-Homo-naledi/. 
  21. ↑ McKensie, David (10 September 2015). "Homo naledi: Scientists find ancient human relative" (Video (02:43)). CNN News. https://www.cnn.com/videos/world/2015/09/10/human-ancestor-species-discovered-south-africa-mckenzie-pkg.cnn/video/playlists/ancient-discoveries/. 
  22. ↑ Staff (10 September 2015). "Dawn of Humanity". PBS. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/dawn-of-humanity/. "Documentary time mark: 1h 40 min" 
  23. ↑ Ghosh, Pallab (10 September 2015). "New human-like species discovered in S Africa". BBC News. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-34192447. 
  24. ↑ Sample, Ian (10 September 2015). "Homo naledi: new species of ancient human discovered, claim scientists". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/new-species-of-ancient-human-discovered-claim-scientists. 
  25. ↑ Wong, Kate. "Debate Erupts over Strange New Human Species". http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/debate-erupts-over-strange-new-human-species/. 
  26. ↑ Dembo, Mana; Radovčić, Davorka; Garvin, Heather M.; Laird, Myra F.; Schroeder, Lauren; Scott, Jill E.; Brophy, Juliet; Ackermann, Rebecca R. et al. (2016-08-01). "The evolutionary relationships and age of Homo naledi: An assessment using dated Bayesian phylogenetic methods". Journal of Human Evolution 97: 17–26. doi:10.1016/j.jhevol.2016.04.008. PMID 27457542. Bibcode: 2016JHumE..97...17D. 
  27. ↑ Bower, Bruce (5 July 2016). "New dating suggests younger age for Homo naledi". https://www.sciencenews.org/article/new-dating-suggests-younger-age-homo-naledi. 
  28. ↑ Thackeray, J. Francis (2015). "Estimating the age and affinities of Homo naledi". South African Journal of Science 111 (11/12): 2. doi:10.17159/sajs.2015/a0124. 
  29. ↑ Callaway, Ewen (2015). "Crowdsourcing digs up an early human species". Nature News & Comment 525 (7569): 297–298. doi:10.1038/nature.2015.18305. PMID 26381960. Bibcode: 2015Natur.525..297C. http://www.nature.com/news/crowdsourcing-digs-up-an-early-human-species-1.18305. Retrieved 22 September 2015. 
  30. ↑ George, Alison (June 5, 2023). "Homo naledi may have made etchings on cave walls and buried its dead". New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2376824-homo-naledi-may-have-made-etchings-on-cave-walls-and-buried-its-dead/. 
  31. ↑ eNCA (14 September 2015). "'Underground astronaut' shares Homo naledi experience". https://www.enca.com/south-africa/underground-astronaut-shares-naledi-experience. 
  32. ↑ Feltman, Rachel (10 September 2015). "Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2015/09/10/meet-the-six-female-underground-astronauts-who-recovered-our-newest-relative/. 
  33. ↑ Smith, David (10 September 2015). "'Small spelunkers required': the ad that led to the discovery of Homo naledi". The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/sep/10/homo-naledi-small-spelunkers-required-how-an-advert-led-to-the-discovery-of-homo-naledi. 
  34. ↑ DeSilva, Jeremy (2021). First steps : how upright walking made us human (First ed.). New York, NY. ISBN 978-0-06-293849-7. OCLC 1244114018. 
  35. ↑ 35.0 35.1 Cline, Eric H. (2018). Three stones make a wall : the story of archaeology. Glynnis Fawkes. Princeton. ISBN 978-0-691-18425-8. OCLC 1051770803. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 Gibbons, Ann (11 September 2015). "New human species discovered". Science 349 (6253): 1149–1150. doi:10.1126/science.349.6253.1149. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 26359379. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.349.6253.1149. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 HIGHAM, TOM (24 August 2021). The World Before Us. Yale University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv1sfsdqn. ISBN 978-0-300-26309-1. http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv1sfsdqn. 
  38. ↑ McKenzie, David; Wende, Hamilton (10 September 2015). "Homo naledi: New species of human ancestor discovered". https://www.cnn.com/2015/09/10/africa/homo-naledi-human-relative-species/index.html. 
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 "Who are the Underground Astronauts?". http://ewn.co.za/Features/Naledi/Who-are-the-Underground-Astronauts. 
  40. ↑ Hunter, K. Lindsay (1 September 2017). "K. Lindsay Hunter". https://www.linkedin.com/in/k-lindsay-hunter-a4863418. 
  41. ↑ "New species of extinct human found in cave may rewrite history". New Scientist. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22730383-700-new-species-extinct-human-found-in-cave-may-rewrite-history/. 
  42. ↑ "Watch Unknown: Cave of Bones | Netflix Official Site". https://www.netflix.com/watch/81473682. 

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