page_title: Homo naledi
section_title: Funerals
hierarchical_section_title: Homo naledi / Culture / Funerals
caption_attribution_description: Afrikaans: Skema van die Dinaledi-grotkamer in die Rising Star-grotstelsel naby Swartkrans in die Wieg van die Mensdom. Dit illustreer die geologiese en tafonomiese konteks en verspreiding van die fossiele, sedimente en vloeisteen in die Dinaledi-grotkamer. Die verspreiding van die verskillende geologiese eenhede en vloeisteen word saam met die veronderstelde verspreiding van fossielmateriaal aangedui. Die fossiele het die kamer binnegekom met die afsetting van eenhede 1 tot 3, via die kameringang regs bo. Eenheid 1 verteenwoordig vroeë sediment wat slegs enkele knaagdierfossiele bevat. Eenheid 2 is sedimente wat aan vloeisteen aan die kamermuur geheg is, en wel fossiele van H. naledi bevat. Eenheid 3 bevat die oorgrote meerderheid fossiele van H. naledi. English: Cartoon illustrating the geological and taphonomic context and distribution of fossils, sediments and flowstones within the Dinaledi Chamber. The distribution of the different geological units and flowstones is shown together with the inferred distribution of fossil material. The fossils came into the cave at the time of the deposition of the unit 1, 2 &amp; 3 sediments via the chamber entrance at top right. Unit 1 represents early sediments which contain only some rodent fossils. Unit 2 represents sediments attached to side wall by flow stone, i.e. remnants of early deposits that do contain fossil bones of Homo naledi. Unit 3 represents rubble sediments containing most fossil bones. Français&#160;: Dessin illustrant le contexte géologique et taphonomique ainsi que la distribution des fossiles, des sédiments et des flowstones géologique au sein de la Chambre Dinaledi. La répartition des différentes unités géologiques et flowstones est représenté avec la distribution présumées de matériel fossile. Les fossiles sont entrés dans la caverne au moment du dépôt de sédiments des unités 1, 2 &amp; 3 par l'entrée de la chambre en haut à droite. L'Unité 1 représente les premiers sédiments qui ne contiennent que des fossiles de rongeurs. L'Unité 2 représente les sédiments qui se ont été attachés à la paroi latérale par "pierre de flux", c'est à dire les restes des premiers dépôts qui ne contiennent pas d'os fossiles d'Homo naledi. L'Unité 3 représente les sédiments de gravats contenant le plus grand nombre d'os fossiles.
context_page_description: Homo naledi is a species of archaic human discovered in the Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, South Africa dating to the Middle Pleistocene 335,000–236,000 years ago. The initial discovery comprises 1,550 specimens, representing 737 different elements, and at least 15 different individuals. Despite this exceptionally high number of specimens, their classification with other Homo remains unclear.
  Along with similarities to contemporary Homo, they share several characteristics with the ancestral Australopithecus and early Homo as well, most notably a small cranial capacity of 465–610 cm³, compared to 1,270–1,330 cm³ in modern humans. They are estimated to have averaged 143.6 cm in height and 39.7 kg in weight, yielding a small encephalization quotient of 4.5. Nonetheless, H. naledi brain anatomy seems to have been similar to contemporary Homo, which could indicate equatable cognitive complexity. The persistence of small-brained humans for so long in the midst of bigger-brained contemporaries revises the previous conception that a larger brain would necessarily lead to an evolutionary advantage, and their mosaic anatomy greatly expands the known range of variation for the genus.
context_section_description: In 2015, archaeologist Paul Dirks, Berger, and colleagues concluded that the bodies had to have been deliberately carried and placed into the chamber by people because they appear to have been intact when they were first deposited in the chamber (no evidence of trauma by being dropped into the chamber nor of predation, and exceptional preservation), the chamber is inaccessible to large predators, the chamber appears to be an isolated system and has never been flooded (that is, natural forces were not at play), there is no hidden shaft by which people could have accidentally fallen in through, and there is no evidence of some catastrophe which killed all the individuals inside the chamber. They said it is also possible that the bodies were dropped down a chute and fell slowly due to irregularity and narrowness of the path down, or a soft mud cushion to land on. In both scenarios, the morticians would have required artificial light to navigate the cave; and the site was used repeatedly for burials as the bodies were not all deposited at the same time.
  In 2016, palaeoanthropologist Aurore Val countered that such preservation may have been due to mummification rather than careful burial, and the absence of long bone heads is reminiscent of predation, and she believes that discounting natural forces such as flooding for depositing the bodies is unjustified. Further, there is evidence of damage done by beetles, beetle larvae, and snails (which facilitate decomposition); but, the chamber does not present ideal conditions for snails, nor does it contain snail shells, which would indicate decomposition actually initiated before deposition in the chamber.
  Nonetheless, in 2017, Dirks, Berger, and colleagues reaffirmed that there is no evidence of water flow into the cave, and that it is more likely that these H. naledi were buried in the chamber. They also said it is possible that they were buried by contemporary Homo, such as the ancestors of modern humans, rather than other H. naledi, but, nonetheless, that the cultural behaviour of funerary practises is not impossible for H. naledi, and burial in the chamber may have been done to remove decaying bodies from a settlement, prevent scavengers, or due to social bonding and grief.
  In 2018, anthropologist Charles Egeland and colleagues echoed Val's sentiments, and stated that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that human species had developed a concept of the afterlife so early in time. They also said that the preservation of the Dinaledi individuals is similar to those of baboon carcasses which accumulate in caves (either by natural death of cave-dwelling baboons or by a leopard dragging in carcasses).
caption: Illustration of Dinaledi Chamber, Rising Star Cave
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