the-future-now: A new discovery has changed scientists’...

[SciTechPress]

the-future-now:

A new  discovery has changed scientists’ understanding of our early human relatives

• In 2013, two recreational cavers accidentally stumbled upon pieces of human history while exploring the Rising Star cave system at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa.
• Located 100 yards from the cave entrance is the Dinaledi chamber — a 30-foot long chamber somewhere between 2 million and 3 million years old — were more than 1,500 fossil fragments of 15 hominin skeletons were found buried in ancient clay.
  
• After a month of excavation and two years of analysis by international experts, a verdict was made: The fossil remnants belonged to a previously unknown species related to humans, Homo naledi.
• Now, the scientists behind the discovery have made another finding regarding the species’ timeline.
• Due to the age and condition of the bones, traditional dating methods like radiocarbon technique or DNA extraction could not be used to date the fossils, the Washington Post reported. Instead, the scientists analyzed the Naledi teeth and radioactivity in the cave to date the fossils “back to between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago.”
• The revelation suggests Homo naledi was alive at the same time as several species of ancient humans. Read more (5/9/17)

follow @the-future-now​

via ScitechPress.org