Abstract
Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-10-2015
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09560
Funding Information
National Geographic Society
-Lee R Berger
The National Research Foundation of South Africa
-Lee R Berger
The Palaeontological Scientific Trust
-Lee R Berger
Lyda Hill Foundation
-Lee R Berger
Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)
-John Hawks
Texas A and M University
-Darryl J de Ruiter
The funders had no role in study design, data collection and interpretation, or the decision to submit the work for publication.
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Geological and Taphonomic Context for the New Hominin Species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa, Paul HGM Dirks et al., published in eLife, v.. 4, article 09561, p. 1-37, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09561#sthash.IxUz6Pgr.dpuf.
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Repository Citation
Berger, Lee R.; Hawks, John; de Ruiter, Darryl J.; Churchill, Steven E.; Schmid, Peter; Delezene, Lucas K.; Kivell, Tracy L.; Garvin, Heather M.; Williams, Scott A.; DeSilva, Jeremy M.; Skinner, Matthew M.; Musiba, Charles M.; Cameron, Noel; Holliday, Trenton W.; Harcourt-Smith, William; Ackermann, Rebecca R.; Bastir, Markus; Bogin, Barry; Bolter, Debra; Brophy, Juliet; Cofran, Zachary D.; Congdon, Kimberly A.; Deane, Andrew S.; Dembo, Mana; Drapeau, Michelle; Elliott, Marina C.; Feuerriegel, Elen M.; Garcia-Martinez, Daniel; Green, David J.; Gurtov, Alia; Irish, Joel D.; Kruger, Ashley; Laird, Myra F.; Marchi, Damiano; Meyer, Marc R.; Nalla, Shahed; Negash, Enquye W.; Orr, Caley M.; Radovcic, Davorka; Schroeder, Lauren; Scott, Jill E.; Throckmorton, Zachary; Tocheri, Matthew W.; VanSickle, Caroline; Walker, Christopher S.; Wei, Pianpian; and Zipfel, Bernhard, "Homo naledi, a New Species of the Genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa" (2015). Neuroscience Faculty Publications. 34.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/neurobio_facpub/34
Supplementary file 1: Holotype and paratype specimens and referred materials
media-2.docx (168 kB)
Supplementary file 2: Traits of <em>H. naledi</em> and comparative species.
Notes/Citation Information
Published in eLife, v. 4, article 09560, p. 1-35.
© 2015, Berger et al.
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use and redistribution provided that the original author and source are credited.