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There ’s " no convincing scientific evidence " behind the extraordinary claims that the ancient human relativeHomo naledideliberately buried their dead and engraved rock deeply in a South African cave around 300,000 long time ago , a group of archaeologists argues in a new commentary .
H. naledibecame a lightning rod of disceptation earlier this year after a teamclaimedthe extinct hominin with an orange - size of it brain carried its dead into the Rising Star cave system , lit fires and engraved nonobjective patterns and shapes onto the wall — complex behaviour previously known only in larger - brain modern homo ( human sapiens ) and our unaired cousins .
A digital reconstruction ofHomo naledi, an extinct human relative who lived around 300,000 years ago.
The team courted backlash , in part , because they announced their controversial findings in aconference speechand three preprint study that were n’t peer - go over , which bedevil some scientists , National Geographicreported at the time . The on-line diary eLife take the preprints , ab initio posted to bioRxiv in June , for a publicpeer - recap appraisal , which conclude that there was " incomplete " evidence behind the claim .
A pip Netflix infotainment sport the discoveries , visit " strange : Cave of Bones " ( 2023 ) , drop on July 17 , less than a week after eLife posted the preprints and critiques .
Now , a squad of researchers has looked at the three eLife studies in item and argued in a traditionally match - reviewed comment , published Nov. 10 in theJournal of Human Evolution , that no convincing scientific grounds was ever present for deliberate interment or rock graphics .
Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger kisses a skull ofHomo nalediin 2015.
Chris Stringer , a research leader in human origins at the Natural History Museum in London who was not involved in any of the study , told Live Science in an e-mail that he agreed with the cautious approach of the new commentary and said it was " well argued . "
" I see it as a necessary rejoinder to some over - hype and previous conclusions about the supposedly complex doings ofHomo naledi , " Stringer said .
Related:‘I am horrified ' : Archaeologists are fuming over ancient human relative remains sent to bound of space
H. nalediwas a 5 - foot - tall ( 1.5 meters ) bipedal hominin with agile hands and asmall - but - complex brain . Andy Herries , a prof of palaeoanthropology at La Trobe University in Australia and one of the authors of the new comment , told Live Science that he does n’t rule out theH. nalediclaims , but he noted a deficiency of science supporting them .
" There is a possibility that some of it could be correct , " Herries enounce . " What we ’re asking for is robust scientific information to substantiate it , include standardized things that you would do forarchaeology . "
Herries described " primal basics " miss from the 2023 eLife studies , include a detailed psychoanalysis of alleged burial sediments andradiocarbon datingof oxford gray from alleged fires . He also wanted more comparisons between the purported dolomite stone engravings and innate weathering , which he often examine in South Africa .
" I ’ve been working here for 26 years , and I see things course in the bitter spar that appear just like that , " Herries said .
Lee Berger , a paleoanthropologist and Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society , lead the team that describedH. nalediin 2015and the inquiry grouping that report the controversial evidence ofdeliberate burialandengravings . He believes the Modern paper repeated worry already being addressed by his squad .
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Berger say he was also disappointed with the deed of the commentary — " No scientific grounds thatHomo nalediburied their dead and produced rock artwork " because " it is the version , not the real information , that is debate . "
Berger ’s team published aresponseto the eLife reviews earlier this year . Their response to the new comment will be print in the Journal of Human Evolution next week , harmonise to Berger .
But that wo n’t be the last word on whetherH. nalediintentionally entomb their dead , lit fire and carved rock’n’roll artistry . Another extraneous study by a different squad accost the title of deliberateH. nalediburial is presently undergoing peer review .
Live Science approached Netflix for gossip on the accuracy of " Unknown : Cave of Bones " but did not receive one by the time of issue .
