A remarkable discovery in a South African cave system suggests that an extinct human relative may have deliberately created an all-female burial site more than 240,000 years ago, raising profound questions about the social and symbolic capacities of early hominins. Scientists analyzing ancient proteins preserved in the teeth of Homo naledi remains recovered from the Rising Star cave system report finding no male-specific markers among at least 20 individuals, according to findings that could resolve a mystery puzzling researchers for over a decade. The protein-based method, which allows sex determination where ancient DNA has degraded, offers a rare window into the demographic composition of a burial assemblage attributed to a small-brained species whose behavior has been intensely debated.
If confirmed, the results would strengthen arguments that Homo naledi intentionally disposed of its dead and may have practiced a form of sex-selective burial, behaviors once considered exclusive to larger-brained hominins such as Neanderthals and modern humans. Independent experts cautioned that the sample size and preservation conditions warrant further scrutiny, and that alternative explanations, including natural accumulation or selective fossilization, cannot yet be excluded. The research team plans additional excavations and protein analyses to test its interpretation. The findings, published amid ongoing debate over the cognitive abilities of Homo naledi, are likely to intensify discussion about when and in which species complex mortuary behavior first emerged.
Independent reporting synthesized from primary wires and global correspondents.