eLife (Sep 2015)
Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa
- Lee R Berger,
- John Hawks,
- Darryl J de Ruiter,
- Steven E Churchill,
- Peter Schmid,
- Lucas K Delezene,
- Tracy L Kivell,
- Heather M Garvin,
- Scott A Williams,
- Jeremy M DeSilva,
- Matthew M Skinner,
- Charles M Musiba,
- Noel Cameron,
- Trenton W Holliday,
- William Harcourt-Smith,
- Rebecca R Ackermann,
- Markus Bastir,
- Barry Bogin,
- Debra Bolter,
- Juliet Brophy,
- Zachary D Cofran,
- Kimberly A Congdon,
- Andrew S Deane,
- Mana Dembo,
- Michelle Drapeau,
- Marina C Elliott,
- Elen M Feuerriegel,
- Daniel Garcia-Martinez,
- David J Green,
- Alia Gurtov,
- Joel D Irish,
- Ashley Kruger,
- Myra F Laird,
- Damiano Marchi,
- Marc R Meyer,
- Shahed Nalla,
- Enquye W Negash,
- Caley M Orr,
- Davorka Radovcic,
- Lauren Schroeder,
- Jill E Scott,
- Zachary Throckmorton,
- Matthew W Tocheri,
- Caroline VanSickle,
- Christopher S Walker,
- Pianpian Wei,
- Bernhard Zipfel
Affiliations
- Lee R Berger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- John Hawks
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
- Darryl J de Ruiter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Texas A&M University, College Station, United States
- Steven E Churchill
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Peter Schmid
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Anthropological Institute and Museum, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
- Lucas K Delezene
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, United States
- Tracy L Kivell
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Heather M Garvin
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology/Archaeology and Department of Applied Forensic Sciences, Mercyhurst University, Erie, United States
- Scott A Williams
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, United States
- Jeremy M DeSilva
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, United States
- Matthew M Skinner
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom; Department of Human Evolution, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
- Charles M Musiba
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, United States
- Noel Cameron
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
- Trenton W Holliday
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Tulane University, New Orleans, United States
- William Harcourt-Smith
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Lehman College, Bronx, United States; Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States
- Rebecca R Ackermann
- Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Markus Bastir
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain
- Barry Bogin
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
- Debra Bolter
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Modesto Junior College, Modesto, United States
- Juliet Brophy
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Geography and Anthropology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, United States
- Zachary D Cofran
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Nazarbayev University, Astana, Kazakhstan
- Kimberly A Congdon
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Pathology and Anatomical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, United States
- Andrew S Deane
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Lexington, United States
- Mana Dembo
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Human Evolutionary Studies Program and Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- Michelle Drapeau
- Department d'Anthropologie, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
- Marina C Elliott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Human Evolutionary Studies Program and Department of Archaeology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
- Elen M Feuerriegel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; School of Archaeology and Anthropology, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia
- Daniel Garcia-Martinez
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Paleoanthropology Group, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid, Spain; Faculty of Sciences, Biology Department, Universidad Autònoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- David J Green
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anatomy, Midwestern University, Downers Grove, United States
- Alia Gurtov
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
- Joel D Irish
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Research Centre in Evolutionary Anthropology and Palaeoecology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Ashley Kruger
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Myra F Laird
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Center for the Study of Human Origins, Department of Anthropology, New York University, New York, United States; New York Consortium in Evolutionary Primatology, New York, United States
- Damiano Marchi
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
- Marc R Meyer
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, United States
- Shahed Nalla
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Human Anatomy and Physiology, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa
- Enquye W Negash
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Center for the Advanced Study of Human Paleobiology, George Washington University, Washington, United States
- Caley M Orr
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, United States
- Davorka Radovcic
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Geology and Paleontology, Croatian Natural History Museum, Zagreb, Croatia
- Lauren Schroeder
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Archaeology, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
- Jill E Scott
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
- Zachary Throckmorton
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anatomy, DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine, Lincoln Memorial University, Harrogate, United States
- Matthew W Tocheri
- Human Origins Program, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, United States; Department of Anthropology, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada
- Caroline VanSickle
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Anthropology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States; Department of Gender and Women's Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, United States
- Christopher S Walker
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, United States
- Pianpian Wei
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of Paleoanthropology, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- Bernhard Zipfel
- Evolutionary Studies Institute and Centre of Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.09560
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 4
Abstract
Homo naledi is a previously-unknown species of extinct hominin discovered within the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. This species is characterized by body mass and stature similar to small-bodied human populations but a small endocranial volume similar to australopiths. Cranial morphology of H. naledi is unique, but most similar to early Homo species including Homo erectus, Homo habilis or Homo rudolfensis. While primitive, the dentition is generally small and simple in occlusal morphology. H. naledi has humanlike manipulatory adaptations of the hand and wrist. It also exhibits a humanlike foot and lower limb. These humanlike aspects are contrasted in the postcrania with a more primitive or australopith-like trunk, shoulder, pelvis and proximal femur. Representing at least 15 individuals with most skeletal elements repeated multiple times, this is the largest assemblage of a single species of hominins yet discovered in Africa.
Keywords
