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

The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to . Further exploration led to the discovery of hominin material, now comprising 131 hominin specimens, within a second chamber, the Lesedi Chamb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	eLife Vol. 6
Main Authors:	Hawks, John, Elliott, Marina, Schmid, Peter, Churchill, Steven E, Ruiter, Darryl J de, Roberts, Eric M, Hilbert-Wolf, Hannah, Garvin, Heather M, Williams, Scott A, Delezene, Lucas K, 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 R, Skinner, Matthew M, Tocheri, Matthew 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, Rooyen, Dirk van, Tsikoane, Mathabela, Boshoff, Pedro, Dirks, Paul Hgm, Berger, Lee R
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England eLife Sciences Publications Ltd 09-05-2017 eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd
Subjects:	Animals Caves Fossils Genomics and Evolutionary Biology Hominidae hominin Homo naledi Lesedi Chamber Museums paleoanthropology South Africa Taxonomy Vertebrae United States > US paleoanthropology Lesedi Chamber evolutionary biology hominin genomics none Homo naledi
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Summary:	The Rising Star cave system has produced abundant fossil hominin remains within the Dinaledi Chamber, representing a minimum of 15 individuals attributed to . 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 . 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 , and evidence of from both recovery localities shows a consistent pattern of differentiation from other hominin species.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	2050-084X 2050-084X
DOI:	10.7554/eLife.24232