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NATGEO: This Face Changes the Human Story. But How?
Scientists have discovered a new species of human ancestor deep in a South African cave, adding a baffling new branch to the family tree.
While primitive in some respects, the face, skull, and teeth show enough modern features to justify H. naledi's placement in the genus Homo. Artist Gurche spent some 700 hours reconstructing the head from bone scans, using bear fur for hair.
<snip>
It was day three or four, and we still hadnt found any fauna, Elliott said. On the first day a few little bird bones had been found on the surface, but otherwise there was nothing but hominin bones.
That made for a mystery as perplexing as that of H. naledis identity: How did the remains get into such an absurdly remote chamber? Clearly the individuals werent living in the cave; there were no stone tools or remains of meals to suggest such occupation. Conceivably a group of H. naledi could have wandered into the cave one time and somehow got trappedbut the distribution of the bones seemed to indicate that they had been deposited over a long time, perhaps centuries... - National Geographic October 2015 issue
While primitive in some respects, the face, skull, and teeth show enough modern features to justify H. naledi's placement in the genus Homo. Artist Gurche spent some 700 hours reconstructing the head from bone scans, using bear fur for hair.
<snip>
It was day three or four, and we still hadnt found any fauna, Elliott said. On the first day a few little bird bones had been found on the surface, but otherwise there was nothing but hominin bones.
That made for a mystery as perplexing as that of H. naledis identity: How did the remains get into such an absurdly remote chamber? Clearly the individuals werent living in the cave; there were no stone tools or remains of meals to suggest such occupation. Conceivably a group of H. naledi could have wandered into the cave one time and somehow got trappedbut the distribution of the bones seemed to indicate that they had been deposited over a long time, perhaps centuries... - National Geographic October 2015 issue
The hypothesis of this discovery is not just the discovery itself, but the way the fossil remains were presented; they were deliberately put there.
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NATGEO: This Face Changes the Human Story. But How? (Original Post)
ffr
Sep 2015
OP
jberryhill
(62,444 posts)1. I had him for fourth grade
How on earth did one of my grade school teachers end up in a cave in South Africa?
shrike
(3,817 posts)2. Burial cave?
Place where they interred their dead?
ffr
(22,669 posts)3. That's what it looks like
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)4. They always make them a little on the melanin deficient side.
MMTampa
(82 posts)5. Natgeo was just purchased by
Rupert Murdoch. Wait till 21st. Century Fox starts to put their spin on these discvoveries...