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Homo naledi

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New Human Ancestor Discovered: Homo naledi (EXCLUSIVE VIDEO) | National Geographic

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How These Female Cavers Recovered New Human Ancestor Fossils (Exclusive Video) | National Geographic

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Homo naledi

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How scientists discovered Homo naledi, the new human ancestor

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In Heaven - The chronicles of Homo Naledi Part 1

Homo naledi is an extinct species of hominin, which anthropologists first described in September 2015 and have assigned to the genus Homo. In 2013, fossil skeletons were found in the Gauteng province of South Africa, in the Rising Star Cave system, part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Johannesburg. Prior to dating, initial judgement based on archaic features of its anatomy favoured an age of roughly two million years old. In 2017, however, the fossils were dated close to 250,000 years ago, and thus contemporary with the first appearence of larger-brained anatomically modern humans. The research team therefore thinks that H. naledi is not a direct ancestor of modern humans, although it is probably an offshoot within the genus Homo.