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29-601: The Underground Astronauts is the name given to a group of six scientists, Hannah Morris , Marina Elliott , Becca Peixotto , Alia Gurtov , K. Lindsay (then Eaves) Hunter, and Elen Feuerriegel , who excavated the bones of Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave system in Gauteng, South Africa. The six women were selected by the expedition leader, Lee Rogers Berger , who posted

58-440: A "master's degree or higher in palaeontology, archeology or an associated field; caving experience; and the ability to fit through an 18-centimeter (about 7-inch) space. The six scientists were crucial in the successful" excavation of arguably one of the most important fossil finds in human history – a new species referred to as Homo naledi . The six member team, with a support of a team of over sixty scientists, excavated "one of

87-567: A dozen individuals. Only 20 out of 206 bones in the human body were not found in the cave as of Summer 2014. By April 2014, between two localities, 1,754 specimens were recovered. The layered distribution of the bones [in clay-rich sediments] suggests that they had been deposited over a long period of time, perhaps centuries. Only one square meter of the cave chamber has been excavated; other remains might still be there. On 20 February 2014, Rick Hunter, Lee Berger, John Hawks, Alia Gurtov, and Pedro Boshoff returned to Rising Star to evaluate

116-756: A few decades earlier. The appearance of limited fossilisation initially led the explorers to think the bones were from the last caver into the chamber, who had subsequently never made it back out alive. Berger organized an expedition to excavate the fossils, which started on 7 November 2013. The expedition was funded by the South African National Research Foundation and the National Geographic Society . The excavation team enlisted six paleoanthropologists, all of whom were women, who could pass through an opening only 18 cm (7 inches) wide to access

145-528: A message on Facebook asking for scientists with experience in paleontological excavations and caving, and were slender enough for cramped spaces. Within ten days of the post, Berger had received almost sixty applicants and chose six scientists to make up his expedition team. In November 2013, the National Geographic Society and the University of the Witwatersrand funded an expedition called

174-468: A room 30 m (98 ft) underground (Site U.W.101 or UW-101 , the Dinaledi Chamber), the surface of which was littered with fossil bones. On 1 October, photos of the site were shown to Pedro Boshoff and then to Lee Berger , both of the University of the Witwatersrand . The arrangement of bones, as well as several survey pegs, suggested "someone had already been there" as recently as

203-471: A second potential site. The site, designated UW-102 (or U.W.102 , aka Lesedi Chamber), was found by cavers Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker on the last day of the first Rising Star Expedition, and limited excavation began in April 2014. As of September 2015 , fossils of at least fifteen individuals, amounting to 1,550 specimens, had been excavated from the cave. About 300 bone fragments were collected from

232-421: Is no evidence of rocks or sediment having dropped into the cave from any opening in the surface; no evidence of water flowing into the cave carrying the bones into the cave. Hawks concluded that the best hypothesis is that the bodies were deliberately placed in the cave after death, by other members of the species. Berger et al. suggest that "these individuals were capable of ritual behaviour." They speculate

261-770: Is no older than three million years. The cave was explored in the 1980s by the Speleological Exploration Club (SEC), a local branch of the South African Speleological Association (SASA). On 13 September 2013, while exploring the Rising Star cave system, recreational cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker of the Speleological Exploration Club (SEC) found a narrow, vertically oriented "chimney" or "chute" measuring 12 m (39 ft) long with an average width of 20 cm (7.9 in). Then Hunter discovered

290-559: The Rising Star Expedition for a twenty-one day excavation at the Rising Star cave system in Gauteng, followed by a second expedition in March 2014 for a 4-week excavation in the Dinaledi Chamber . The first expedition retrieved 1,550 pieces of bone belonging to at least fifteen individuals, found within 1 m of clay -rich sediments. Out of the fossil assemblage found, only twenty bones in the human anatomy were not found in

319-423: The "Dragon's Back Chamber," which includes an approximately 15 m (49 foot) exposed climb up a ridge of a sharp-edged dolomite block that fell from the roof sometime in the distant past. This block is the so-called Dragon's Back, so named because the climbing route appears to progress from the tail to the head along the spiked spine of a mythical beast. Geologists think the cave in which the fossils were discovered

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348-457: The 1960s. In 2015, fossils found there two years prior were determined to be a previously unknown extinct species of hominin named Homo naledi . In the 1980s, the names "Empire", "Westminster", and "Rising Star" were used interchangeably. The species's name, naledi ( Sesotho for "star"), and the "Dinaledi Chamber" (incorporating the Sotho word for "stars") were so named by members of

377-675: The Bloubank River valley, 2.2 km west of Sterkfontein Cave . It comprises an area of 250 × 150 m of mapped passageways situated in the core of a gently west dipping (17°) open fold , and it is stratigraphically bound to a 15–20 m-thick, stromatolitic dolomite horizon in the lower parts of the Monte Christo Formation. This dolomite horizon is largely chert -free but contains five thin (<10 cm) chert marker horizons that have been used to evaluate

406-759: The Dinaledi Chamber. Those chosen were Hannah Morris , Marina Elliott , Becca Peixotto , Alia Gurtov , Lindsay Eaves, and Elen Feuerriegel . They have since been nicknamed the Underground Astronauts . The Dinaledi Chamber was assigned the designation UW-101 (or U.W.101 ) and was excavated by these six members of the Rising Star Expedition during November 2013. More than 1,200 fossil elements were recovered and catalogued in November 2013, representing at least

435-554: The Dinaledi chamber. Because of the difficulty of the expedition and their exploration of the Dinaledi Chamber, the six women were given the name "the Underground Astronauts." Berger's methods in selecting his research team were criticized by some contemporaries. Because of how he called for applicants via social media to investigate new hominin remains, some experts questioned the legitimacy and professionalism of

464-482: The Rising Star Expedition in reference to the species and chamber's location in Rising Star Cave. A portion of the cave, used by the excavation team en route to the Dinaledi Chamber, is called "Superman's Crawl" because most people can fit through only by holding one arm tightly against the body and extending the other above the head, in the manner of Superman in flight. The Superman Crawl opens into

493-462: The United States and Mexico, before returning to her studies at Ohio State University , earning an M.A. in anthropology in 2012 with a special focus in paleoethnobotany . In October 2013, Morris, Becca Peixotto , Marina Elliot , Alia Gurtov , K. Lindsay Eaves, and Elen Feuerriegel were chosen to be part of a specialized excavation team for the Rising Star Expedition . The purpose of

522-483: The University of the Witwatersrand, On 10 September 2015, the fossils were publicly unveiled and given the name Homo naledi . The fossils of the Dinaledi chamber have been dated to between 335,000 and 236,000 years ago, long after much larger-brained and more modern-looking hominins had appeared. Geologists estimate that the cave in which the fossils were discovered is no older than three million years, and

551-540: The ages for flowstone where the fossils were recovered from was interpreted to be deposited between 236,000 and 414,000 years ago. In 2023, Berger published a preliminary report that described rock engravings on a pillar in the Hill Antechamber, near where bodies were found. They are "deeply impressed cross-hatchings and other geometric shapes. The surfaces bearing these engravings appear to have been prepared and smoothed." Berger goes on to note, "If confirmed,

580-451: The antiquity, intentionality, and authorship of the reported markings will have profound archaeological implications, as such behaviors are otherwise widely considered to be unique to our species, Homo sapiens." However it does concede the discovery requires more work to confirm who made the markings and when. In addition, Berger found evidence of extensive fire use in the cave, presumably to provide light. The Rising Star cave system lies in

609-407: The assortment. The six scientists had to pass through three points of difficult terrain in the cave to reach the bone chamber. The first is referred to as "Superman's Crawl," which required one arm held forward to pass, similar to Superman 's flight. They then had to climb vertically up a rock surface, known as the "Dragon's back," and finally pass through a slender opening and descend 30 meters into

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638-409: The circumstances of their location. Paleoanthropologist John D. Hawks , from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who is a member of the team, has stated that the scientific facts are that all the bones recovered are hominin, except for those of one owl; there are no signs of predation, and there is no predator that accumulates only hominins this way; the bones did not accumulate there all at once. There

667-492: The expedition. He used a similar process when it came time to analyze the recovered remains, once again sending out a call online for those interested in analyzing the remains, specifically looking for early career applicants. Berger was given the nickname "Mr. Paleodemocracy" because of his methods. Some experts began to view the expedition as a media stunt, as the excavation process was documented via daily blog posts, and Berger spoke on radio shows. The data collected

696-641: The most likely age for H. naledi was 912 kya . The age of the original Homo naledi remains from the Dinaledi Chamber has been revealed to be startlingly young in age. Homo naledi , which was first announced in September 2015, was alive sometime between 335 and 236 thousand years ago. This places this population of primitive small-brained hominins at a time and place that it is likely they lived alongside Homo sapiens . A collaborative workshop involving 54 local and international scientists took place in May 2014 at

725-446: The placing of dead bodies in the cave was a ritualistic behaviour, a sign of symbolic thought . "Ritual" here means an intentional and repeated practice (disposing of dead bodies in the cave), and not implying any type of religious ritual. This hypothesis has been criticised for its improbability. A study involving the statistical reconstruction of hominin evolutionary trees from skull and tooth measurements, originally indicated that

754-666: The richest collections of hominin fossils ever discovered—some 1,550 fossil fragments, belonging to at least 15 individual skeletons". Rising Star Cave The Rising Star cave system (also known as Westminster or Empire cave) is located in the Malmani dolomites , in Bloubank River valley, about 800 meters (0.50 miles; 2,600 feet) southwest of Swartkrans , part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa . Recreational caving has occurred there since

783-424: The surface of the Dinaledi Chamber, and about 1,250 fossil specimens were recovered from the chamber's main excavation pit, Unit 3. The fossils include skulls, jaws, ribs, teeth, bones of an almost complete foot, of a hand, and of an inner ear. The bones of both old and young individuals, as well as infants, were found. The 15 partial skeletons, which were found in a small underground chamber, invite speculation on

812-495: The twenty-one day expedition, sponsored by The National Geographic Society and the University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg was to excavate fossils which had been recently found in a deep cave complex in the Rising Star Cave System, near Johannesburg, South Africa . The unique skill set sought for the excavation team by lead scientist and University of the Witwatersrand professor Lee Berger were:

841-433: Was published in open-access journals and scanned in-order to allow the greatest amount of scientists to access and contribute to the study of the fossil data, quite different from the slow and limited access methods used by most paleoanthropologists . Hannah Morris (anthropologist) Morris attended the University of Georgia , earning a B.A. in anthropology in 2007. She participated in archaeological projects in

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