Ancient Homo Naledi Skeletons Recovered From South African Cave Reveal All-Female Remains
Zero male remains appear among 20 ancient hominin skeletons recovered deep inside the Rising Star Cave system in South Africa, according to a protein analysis published in the journal Cell. That discovery pits a one-in-one-million chance against a deliberate cultural practice.
The remains belong to Homo naledi, an anatomically archaic species that lived 335,000 to 236,000 years ago alongside early modern humans. Cavers first discovered the fossil trove in 2013 within the Cradle of Humankind. While researchers agree on the unusual makeup of the cave chamber, they disagree sharply on how the skeletons arrived there.
An analysis of tooth proteins suggests all 23 Homo naledi individuals found in the Rising Star cave in South Africa were female, which strengthens the case that they were placed there deliberately https://t.co/qi4Vm8X0pM
Protein Analysis of Tooth Enamel Exposes Missing Y Chromosome
Paleoproteomics specialists Enrico Cappellini and Palesa Madupe from the University of Copenhagen led the effort to determine the sex of the fossils by extracting proteins from tooth enamel. Madupe used a minimally destructive acid etching technique on 23 teeth representing at least 20 individuals to isolate peptide fragments.
The tests checked for amelogenin y, a genetic marker found exclusively in males, alongside amelogenin x, which both sexes carry. After finding no amelogenin y in the initial samples, Madupe began to wonder whether she had contaminated the sample with her own proteins, and male colleagues subsequently extracted fresh samples. A separate laboratory at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany, independently verified the results. The odds of finding 20 individuals of the same sex by chance alone sit at 0.0000954 percent, or less than one in one million.
An analysis of tooth proteins suggests all 23 Homo naledi individuals found in the Rising Star cave in South Africa were female, which strengthens the case that they were placed there deliberately https://t.co/H5R59VrdsZ
Deliberate Funerary Rituals Versus Population Genetics and Cave Taphonomy
Lee Berger, the palaeoanthropologist who named the species in 2015 and co-authored the recent study, told Science that the findings support his theory of intentional burial. He argues that Homo naledi engaged in cultural behavior that separated males and females during death rituals. If confirmed, these burials would predate the earliest widely accepted evidence of intentional burial—found in a female Neanderthal at Tabun Cave in Israel—by roughly 100,000 years.
Other researchers reject the intentional burial hypothesis entirely, arguing that natural taphonomic forces deposited the bodies together. Critics contend that Berger’s interpretations rely on a presupposed narrative that lacks statistical support. As an alternative explanation, geneticists point to the founder effect, where an isolated splinter population loses genetic diversity. If a small ancestral group lacked the male genetic marker, an all-female cave deposit could result from population genetics rather than cultural segregation. Other researchers have suggested that the females may have been hiding from males or living in a subterranean group.
A groundbreaking new study suggests that all 20 analyzed Homo naledi individuals from South Africa’s Rising Star Cave were female. Since the 2013 discovery of the cave, Homo naledi, a small-brained human relative that lived around 300,000 years ago, has been at the center of… pic.twitter.com/RfPWOw7NR6
Frequently Asked Questions About the Rising Star Cave Skeletons
How many Homo naledi individuals were tested in the recent study?
Researchers tested 23 teeth representing at least 20 distinct individuals from the Rising Star Cave system.
When were the original Homo naledi fossils discovered?
Cavers discovered the initial fossil trove in 2013 inside the Rising Star Cave system in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa, and scientists described the brand-new species in 2015.
What technique did scientists use to determine the sex of the fossils?
Researchers applied a minimally destructive acid etching technique to extract peptide fragments from tooth enamel, analyzing the samples for amelogenin markers.
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