Essay On Homo Naledi

In 2013 Lee Berger led his team into uncharted territory (Eyewitness News, 2015). Although the journey into the belly of the Rising Star Caves was not easy, with a pathway that narrowed to a shockingly tiny 17 cm at some points, the discoveries found inside the cave were astounding (Eyewitness News, 2015). The fossils found inside the Rising Star Caves were evidence of a new hominin species named Homo naledi that lived around 2 million years ago (Lecture, 4/14). In this paper I will assert the importance of the Homo naledi find in terms of its excavation process and its larger implications for hominin evolution. To support this statement I will explore the innovative technological methods Lee Berger and his team used throughout the research and excavation process and analyse the anatomical similarities and differences between Homo naledi and other hominins living at the time, specifically Homo erectus. Overall, the Homo naledi find was extremely significant as it revolutionized the way paleoanthropologists discover fossils and complicated the process of human evolution.
The entire procedure of discovering the H. naledi fossils was revolutionarily different from what is typically seen in the paleoanthropology community. As a group, paleoanthropologists are excessively competitive and
naledi was significant for two reasons. Firstly, the H. naledi find was the first time that a paleoanthropologist used innovative technology to create a transparent and accessible discovery of fossils. Secondly, this discovery was important because it contrasted what was expected in hominin evolution. One of the most prominent examples being H. naledi’s decreased brain size in comparison to that of their predecessor’s H. habilis, which stood in contrast to the previously believed linear progression of hominin brain growth. All in all the H. naledi find acts as a reminder that as much as we think we know, there will always be more to learn and new ways to