New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa

Hawks, John, Elliott, Marina, Schmid, Peter, Churchill, Steven E., DeRuiter, Daryl, Roberts, Eric M., Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah, Garvin, Heather M., Delezene, Lucas K., Williams, Scott A., Feuerriegel, Elen M., Randolph-Quinney, Patrick, Kivell, Tracy L., Laird, Myra F., Tawane, Gaokgatlhe, DeSilva, Jeremy M., Bailey, Shara E., Brophy, Juliet K., Meyer, Marc, Skinner, Matthew M., Tocheri, Mathew W., VanSickle, Caroline, Walker, Christopher S., Campbell, Timothy L., Kuhn, Brian, Kruger, Ashley, Tucker, Steven, Gurtov, Alia, Hlophe, Nompumelelo, Hunter, Rick, Morris, Hannah, Peixotto, Becca, Ramalepa, Maropeng, van Rooyen, Dirk, Tsikoane, Mathabela, Boshoff, Pedro, Dirks, Paul H.G.M., and Berger, Lee R. (2017) New fossil remains of Homo naledi from the Lesedi Chamber, South Africa. eLife, 6. e24232. pp. 1-63.

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Abstract

The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to Homo naledi. Further exploration led to the discovery of hominin material, now comprising 131 hominin specimens, within a second chamber, the Lesedi Chamber. The Lesedi Chamber is far separated from the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave system, and represents a second depositional context for hominin remains. In each of three collection areas within the Lesedi Chamber, diagnostic skeletal material allows a clear attribution to H. naledi. Both adult and immature material is present. The hominin remains represent at least three individuals based upon duplication of elements, but more individuals are likely present based upon the spatial context. The most significant specimen is the near-complete cranium of a large individual, designated LES1, with an endocranial volume of approximately 610 ml and associated postcranial remains. The Lesedi Chamber skeletal sample extends our knowledge of the morphology and variation of H. naledi, and evidence of H. naledi from both recovery localities shows a consistent pattern of differentiation from other hominin species.

Item ID: 49085
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 2050-084X
Additional Information:

Copyright Hawks 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.

Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC), James Cook University
Projects and Grants: ARC Discovery Grant
Date Deposited: 27 Jun 2017 04:19
FoR Codes: 37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3705 Geology > 370502 Geochronology @ 50%
37 EARTH SCIENCES > 3705 Geology > 370506 Palaeontology (incl. palynology) @ 50%
SEO Codes: 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970104 Expanding Knowledge in the Earth Sciences @ 100%
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