Rising Star Expedition

INTERVIEW RISING STAR EXPEDITION A member of the 2014 award- winning Rising Star Expedition, ‘Underground Astronaut’ K Lindsay Hunter was one of six female scientists who excavated fossils of the new species, Homo naledi, from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. Alongside a detailed description of her experience in the cave, she explains the impact of the K Lindsay Hunter during the Rising Star Expedition © Elen Feuerriegel. discovery to date Congratulations! The discovery of Homo naledi is altering our Mandible (occlusal understanding of human ancestry. What can you say, more specifically, view) © John Hawks. about the significance of these findings? Homo naledi (along with Homo floresiensis and the existence of the RISING STAR Denisovans) helps illustrate the diversity of evolutionary experiments our lineage is and was subject to, exposing the hubris of human exceptionalism. Our sole existence at this point in history may be nothing more than a quirk of fate, rather than the steady march of progress EXPEDITION even scientists have difficulty thinking past. Rather than abandoning us to nihilism and removing meaning from our existence, it reaffirms our connectedness with the rest of life on this planet. This gives us the opportunity to reassess what we feel sets us apart and be truly exceptional; to actively choose greatness rather than to feel entitled through separate creation or as the winners of some bloody competition. Evolution has meandered and drifted its path one way, but our lives are what we make of them. What initial conclusions can be drawn from the contrast between the ape- and human-like body parts identified within each skeleton? The mosaic features (both ‘ancestral’ and derived features – known technically as plesiomorphies or apomorphies) help us to relatively date the lineage to somewhere in the 2-2.5 million year realm. The uniqueness of this patterning, which is repeated in each of the individuals, instructs us that we are most likely looking at a previously unknown species, hence the designation, Homo naledi. The curious morphology of the hands, shoulder and trunk, juxtaposed with relatively long, modern legs and modern feet, indicate both climbing ability on the one hand (perhaps, a more ancestral retention) and long-distance walking on the other – a more derived trait. The coexistence of these two adaptations complicates our view of the behaviour of early Homo. One remarkable finding was that Homo naledi deliberately disposed of the dead in a similar manner to human burials. How was this determined? To what extent is this changing the way scientists interpret our ancestors’ rituals? The working hypothesis that Homo naledi apparently disposed of its dead in a deliberate manner within the Dinaledi Chamber was reached only after an extensive process of elimination, taking into consideration locally unique features such as deposition in loose, geochemically isolated soil and lack of other contemporary vertebrate fossils. Various depositional scenarios were evaluated in what was deemed reverse order of likelihood: occupation, water transport, predator accumulation, A BRIEF HOMO NALEDI DISCOVERY TIMELINE 13 SEPTEMBER 2013 – Discovery of fossils 24 SEPTEMBER 2013 – Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker returned to the cave to take photos 1 OCTOBER 2013 – Pedro Boshoff showed the photos to Professor Lee Berger 6 OCTOBER 2013 – Professor Lee Berger posted a call on social media for potential team members 5-26 NOVEMBER 2013 – The initial expedition MARCH 2015 – The 10-day excavation MAY 2015 – The Rising Star Workshop (also publicised via social media) MAY 2015-PRESENT – Analysis, manuscript preparation, submissions and revisions 10 SEPTEMBER 2015 – Announcement of new species discovery mass fatality or death trap and, finally, deliberate disposal. Each of these schemes was scrutinised and rejected in turn with the exception of deliberate disposal. COLLECTIVE IMPACT We cannot know from the material recovered to date what, if anything, The Rising Star Expedition emphasises the need for large, was the intention of these hominins in depositing these bodies within collaborative and open science moving forward. Regardless the chamber. There are no cultural or ritual items associated with the of background, each uniquely skilled and learned individual assemblage and it is currently unclear whether the bodies were placed played a pivotal role in the exploration, discovery, recovery, or simply posted down the entrance chute into the chamber. There are no analysis and dissemination of Homo naledi – but had each marks associated with either cannibalism or mortuary practices. worked in isolation, we would have only gone so far. Each person was needed in order to function at peak capacity. Depending on the date of the assemblage, this could push the date of Gone are the days of the lonely genius working in isolation; known intentional burials back before the time of Neandertals, though all of us are smarter than any one of us. the small cranial capacity makes this apparently complex behaviour surprising regardless of the age. This may point to a need to reassess just what we are measuring when we look at cranial capacity – is it really a good indication of cognitive functioning? Funded by the National Geographic Society, the Rising Star The Rising Star Expedition researchers, cavers and explorers Expedition was organised to excavate and study the most successfully identified the species by combining academic knowledge abundant early hominin site in Southern Africa, within the Cradle with practical skills. How did this interdisciplinary endeavour work in of Humankind World Heritage Site. practice? What role did you play? I was one of the six advance cave scientists, also known popularly as the ‘Underground Astronauts’. For this role, we were required to have The skull itself was packed first in a plastic baggy, as we do with all ‘excellent archaeological/palaeontological and excavations skills’, ‘be our fossils – and then, in this case, in a cereal bowl to give it support. skinny and preferably small’, ‘not be claustrophobic’ and ‘be willing to […] Then this was wrapped in pink bubble wrap and put in a plastic work in cramped quarters, have a good attitude and be a team player,’ Tupperware. […] The box had to be handed up the chute – the tight 12 as requested in the social media post calling for participants written metre vertical bit [that was only 18 cm wide]. […] I was in the middle of by leader of the Rising Star Expedition, Professor Lee Berger from the Dragon’s Back when I felt slightly nauseated as the box passed from Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand, [now my husband] Rick [Hunter]’s hand to mine, and I passed it to Becca South Africa. [Peixotto] with a ‘take’ – my heart restarted when I heard a ‘thank you’. […] We were all then greeted by Pedro Boshoff, the cave leader, who The Rising Star Expedition is a perfect example of the whole being greeted the skull in Afrikaans saying: ‘Welcome, it’s time you came home greater than the sum of its parts. While each individual member friend’. We all took a moment underground together as the enormity of possessed a multitude of complementary skills and talents, this this, and every moment of this expedition, sunk in. We’d only met one incredible undertaking could not have been accomplished with such another less than two weeks before. But the advance scientists and the alacrity and proficiency, had we not made use of a large and diverse cavers, and everyone in the camp, fit so quickly to become a family. international team. Not only did each person work competently on their own, as needed, they each contributed to a collegial environment that put @Paleo_Bonegirl the pursuit of human knowledge ahead of individual ego. http://voices.nationalgeographic.com/blog/rising-star-expedition Can you provide a visual description of the experience? This is an edited extract from an audio recording I made during the expedition. To listen to the full recording, visit: http://bit.ly/AccioSkull Homo naledi hand © John Hawks. This is my account of the day the skull came out, which was our day eight on site, 15 November [2013]. […] It was a Friday, or ‘accio skull’ day; I wish I’d had a Harry Potter wand to bring it out because it was very, very difficult. […] The extraction of the skull from the fossil chamber itself was epic. Elen [Feuerrigel], Alia [Gurtov], Hannah [Morris] and I were topside when they finally got ready to send up the precious package. We were all crowded in the command centre around the ‘Brady Bunch’ cam screen […] and we all jumped to it when Lee Berger gave the go ahead that we were all going to get to go back in – some of us had just showered and were only wearing sandals – to give the skull a proper reception and to safely pass our precious cargo along our perilous route. The curious morphology of the hands, shoulder and trunk, juxtaposed with relatively long, modern legs and modern feet, indicate both climbing ability on the one hand and long-distance walking on the other.

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