UW News

Elen Feuerriegel

May 9, 2017

Early human fossils found in South African cave system

This skull, part of a skeleton that scientists have named Neo, was found in the Lesedi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system in South Africa. Most of the bones in the middle of the face are intact, unlike another skull found in a nearby chamber of the cave system.

  An international team of scientists, including one from the University of Washington, has announced the discovery of additional remains of a new human species, Homo naledi, in a series of caves northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa. The find includes the remains of two adults and a child in the Lesedi Chamber of the Rising…