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New Species of Human Relative Discovered in South African Cave (Homo Naledi)
National Geographic ^ | 9-10-2015

Posted on 09/10/2015 6:00:52 AM PDT by blam

September 10, 2015

JOHANNESBURG—The discovery of a new species of human relative was announced today (Sept. 10) by the University of the Witwatersrand (Wits University), the National Geographic Society and the South African Department of Science and Technology/National Research Foundation (DST/NRF). Besides shedding light on the origins and diversity of our genus, the new species, Homo naledi, appears to have intentionally deposited bodies of its dead in a remote cave chamber, a behaviour previously thought limited to humans.

The finds are described in two papers published in the scientific journal eLife and reported in the cover story of the October issue of National Geographic magazine (http://natgeo.org/naledi) and a NOVA/National Geographic Special (#NalediFossils). An international team of scientists took part in the research.

Consisting of more than 1,550 numbered fossil elements, the discovery is the single largest fossil hominin find yet made on the continent of Africa. The initial discovery was made in 2013 in a cave known as Rising Star in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, by Wits University scientists and volunteer cavers. The fossils, which have yet to be dated, lay in a chamber about 90 meters (some 100 yards) from the cave entrance, accessible only through a chute so narrow that a special team of very slender individuals was needed to retrieve them.

(snip)

(Excerpt) Read more at press.nationalgeographic.com ...


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: africa; ggg; godsgravesglyphs; homo; homonaledi; humans; humanspecies; johannesburg; origins; risingstarcav; risingstarcave; southafrica
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1 posted on 09/10/2015 6:00:53 AM PDT by blam
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To: SunkenCiv

GGG Ping.


2 posted on 09/10/2015 6:01:17 AM PDT by blam (Jeff Sessions For President)
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To: blam

Homo Nailed It?


3 posted on 09/10/2015 6:04:54 AM PDT by BenLurkin (The above is not a statement of fact. It is either satire or opinion. Or both.)
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To: blam

When they find a totally unknown small “species” I think of Nebraska man.


4 posted on 09/10/2015 6:06:43 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: blam

Amazing!


5 posted on 09/10/2015 6:06:50 AM PDT by Cry if I Wanna
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To: blam

Hilarity over here...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3335144/posts


6 posted on 09/10/2015 6:12:33 AM PDT by ButThreeLeftsDo (FR NEEDS YOU NOW!)
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To: blam
The Latin adjective humanus comes from the noun homo (human being), so a critter of the genus Homo could be considered "human."

Poor guy seems to have gotten a nasty bump on his head. I doubt they have any evidence for the shape of the nose--they could have had noses more like those of Homo sapiens rather than like those of apes.

7 posted on 09/10/2015 6:15:17 AM PDT by Verginius Rufus
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To: blam

This article has a better headline (relative not ancestor). I’d say this species IS classified as human because of it’s inclusion in genus Homo so burying their dead suggests it’s correctly classified.


8 posted on 09/10/2015 6:19:31 AM PDT by Varda
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To: mountainlion
When they find a totally unknown small “species” I think of Nebraska man.

I think of Obama

9 posted on 09/10/2015 6:23:40 AM PDT by Don Corleone ("Oil the gun..eat the cannoli. Take it to the Mattress.")
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To: blam

They found a new humanoid species in San Francisco. I believe they call it homo democratis.


10 posted on 09/10/2015 6:26:34 AM PDT by 2nd Amendment (Proud member of the 48% . . giver not a taker)
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To: 2nd Amendment
new humanoid species

New York/Washington too.

11 posted on 09/10/2015 6:32:24 AM PDT by Fightin Whitey
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To: Varda

Some define human as anything that walks on two legs.


12 posted on 09/10/2015 6:51:43 AM PDT by mountainlion (Live well for those that did not make it back.)
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To: blam

Looks rather contemporary to me.


13 posted on 09/10/2015 7:00:05 AM PDT by HomerBohn (Liberals and slinkies: they're good for nothing, but you smile as you shove them down the stairs.)
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To: blam

Looks like another load of bovine excrement. Basically a man with a ape face. No, this is juast another make believe creature from the pretend-science of Darwinian evolution.


14 posted on 09/10/2015 7:10:11 AM PDT by captain_dave
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To: captain_dave

As with “climate change”, you have to look at the underlying motivations.

For climate change, it’s a handy vehicle to advance marxism.
For this topic, however, it’s more spiritual -
the point is to justify the denial of God and humans’ special place in creation.


15 posted on 09/10/2015 7:12:36 AM PDT by MrB (The difference between a Humanist and a Satanist - the latter admits whom he's working for)
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To: captain_dave

Looks like Michelle to me.


16 posted on 09/10/2015 7:17:04 AM PDT by fredhead (Join the Navy and see the world.....77% of which is covered in water.)
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To: MrB

Man is made in the image of God. In other words, man has free will with a conscious mind that affects and creates his world. What I find interesting is while physics is exploring nonphysical realms of energy and consciousness; the groundwork having been laid by quantum mechanics, biology is still seemingly stuck in a strictly physical Newtonian physics universe. They still believe that self awareness is a phenomenon of the physical brain, which is like saying the music you hear on the radio is a phenomenon of the radio’s circuitry.


17 posted on 09/10/2015 7:21:16 AM PDT by captain_dave
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To: blam
. . .Homo naledi, appears to have intentionally deposited bodies of its dead in a remote cave chamber, a behaviour previously thought limited to humans. . . .

. . .The fossils, which have yet to be dated, lay in a chamber about 90 meters (some 100 yards) from the cave entrance, accessible only through a chute so narrow that a special team of very slender individuals was needed to retrieve them. . .

______________________________________________________

It sounds to me like a bunch of apes all went into that cave for some reason; food, shelter from a storm, being chased by a predator, then couldn't get back out.

18 posted on 09/10/2015 7:31:39 AM PDT by KittenClaws ( Normalcy Bias. Do you have it?)
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To: mountainlion

Actually nobody does that.


19 posted on 09/10/2015 7:51:16 AM PDT by Varda
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To: blam

“.......intentionally deposited bodies of its dead in a remote cave chamber, a behaviour previously thought limited to humans.”

Ever seen an ant farm?


20 posted on 09/10/2015 10:07:27 AM PDT by Gator113 (~~Cruz, OR LOSE~~ Ted Cruz REMAINS the only true Conservative in this race. ~~ just livin' life~~)
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