Homo naledi may Date From the Gelasian Pleistocene Quaternary (2 Million Years ago)

Estimating the age and affinities of Homo naledi

Author:

Thackeray

Extract:

Recent discoveries of more than 1500 hominin fossils from the site of Rising Star in the South African Cradle of Humankind, attributed to a new species (Homo naledi), have attracted global interest. As yet no secure date for this extraordinary material has been obtained, and the relationship of this species to other Plio-Pleistocene taxa has been greatly debated in the media. Here I report results of morphometric analyses that may facilitate an assessment of the age and affinities of crania attributed to H. naledi.

pop sci write up.