A child’s skull found deep inside a South African cave offers new clues about a group of mysterious human ancestors
Sunday 14th November 2021
Homo naledi
Anthropologists Marina Elliott and Becca Peixotto found themselves squeezing through a tight tunnel four years ago, nearly 300 feet underground. They were searching for ancient human remains in a network of caves near Johannesburg, South Africa.
With only headlamps to guide them through the cave system, called Rising Star, the duo scrambled over boulders until they came upon a narrow shaft. Only one could enter the shaft at a time, so Peixotto pretzeled her body around the corner.
There she saw them, on a limestone shelf: teeth and fragments of skull belonging to a Homo naledi child.
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