Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi

Abstract

In this study, we describe new results of excavations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. In two areas within the Hill Antechamber and the Dinaledi Chamber, this work uncovered concentrations of abundant Homo naledi fossils including articulated, matrix-supported skeletal regions consistent with rapid covering by sediment prior to the decomposition of soft tissue. We additionally re-examine the spatial positioning of skeletal material and associated sediments within the Puzzle Box area, from which abundant H. naledi remains representing a minimum of six individuals were recovered in 2013 and 2014. Multiple lines of evidence exclude the hypothesis that skeletal remains from these three areas come from bodies that decomposed on the floor of the chamber or within a shallow depression prior to burial by sediments. The spatial positioning of skeletal material, the topography of the subsystem, and observations on sediments within and surrounding features exclude the hypothesis that rapid burial by sediment was a result of gravity-driven slumping or spontaneous movement of sediments. We present a minimal hypothesis of hominin cultural burial and test the evidence from all three areas, finding that this hypothesis is most compatible with the pattern of evidence. These results suggest that mortuary behavior, including cultural burial, was part of the repertoire of Homo naledi.Permits to conduct research in the Rising Star Cave system are provided by the South African Heritage Resource Agency (LRB). Permission to work in the Rising Star cave is given by the LRB Foundation for Research and Exploration. We would like to thank the University of the Witwatersrand’s Primate Fossil Access Committee for allowing access to the original material for study and the University Curator and Assistant Curator of Collections for assisting with logistics in studying the material. We would like to thank the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital for allowing access to their clinical CT scanner. We acknowledge the European Synchrotron Research Facility for providing access to facilities including the BM18 beamline. We would like to thank Matthew Caruana for discussions related to the stone object associated with the Hill Antechamber burial. We would like to thank the Spectrum Analytical Facility and the Department of Metallurgy at the University of Johannesburg for the analytical work on the sediments. Christian Reinke is specifically thanked for carrying out the XRF measurements (TM). The authors would like to acknowledge the funders of the various expeditions that recovered the fossil material and information, including 3d scanning and the production of AVR material described in this paper including the National Geographic Society (LRB, CJ, KB), the Lyda Hill Foundation (LRB) and the National Research Foundation of South Africa (LRB). Laboratory work, field work and travel was funded by the National Geographic Society (LRB, ME, AK, CJ, KB), the Lyda Hill Foundation (LRB, ME, AK) the Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences at the University of the Witwatersrand (now GENUS) (AK), the Fulbright Scholar Program (JH), John Templeton Foundation (LRB, JH) and National Research Foundation of South Africa (TM), University of Johannesburg Research Council (TM), and the Spectrum Analytical Facility at University of Johannesburg (TM).</p