Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa

We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. M...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	eLife Vol. 4
Main Authors:	Dirks, Paul H G M, Berger, Lee R, Roberts, Eric M, Kramers, Jan D, Hawks, John, Randolph-Quinney, Patrick S, Elliott, Marina, Musiba, Charles M, Churchill, Steven E, de Ruiter, Darryl J, Schmid, Peter, Backwell, Lucinda R, Belyanin, Georgy A, Boshoff, Pedro, Hunter, K Lindsay, Feuerriegel, Elen M, Gurtov, Alia, Harrison, James du G, Hunter, Rick, Kruger, Ashley, Morris, Hannah, Makhubela, Tebogo V, Peixotto, Becca, Tucker, Steven
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd 10-09-2015 eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
Subjects:	Animals Chemical Phenomena Dinaledi Chamber Fossils Genomics and Evolutionary Biology Geologic Sediments Hominidae - classification hominin Homo naledi Humans paleoanthropology South Africa taphonomy paleoanthropology taphonomy Dinaledi Chamber evolutionary biology hominin genomics Homo naledi
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Summary:	We describe the physical context of the Dinaledi Chamber within the Rising Star cave, South Africa, which contains the fossils of Homo naledi. Approximately 1550 specimens of hominin remains have been recovered from at least 15 individuals, representing a small portion of the total fossil content. Macro-vertebrate fossils are exclusively H. naledi, and occur within clay-rich sediments derived from in situ weathering, and exogenous clay and silt, which entered the chamber through fractures that prevented passage of coarser-grained material. The chamber was always in the dark zone, and not accessible to non-hominins. Bone taphonomy indicates that hominin individuals reached the chamber complete, with disarticulation occurring during/after deposition. Hominins accumulated over time as older laminated mudstone units and sediment along the cave floor were eroded. Preliminary evidence is consistent with deliberate body disposal in a single location, by a hominin species other than Homo sapiens, at an as-yet unknown date.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2050-084X 2050-084X
DOI:	10.7554/eLife.09561