Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by <i>Homo naledi</i>.

ABSTRACT: In this study, we describe new results of excavations in the Dinaledi Subsystem of the Rising Star cave system, South Africa. In two areas within the Hill Antechamber and the Dinaledi Chamber, this work uncovered concentrations of abundant Homo naledi fossils including articulated, matrix-supported skeletal regions consistent with rapid covering by sediment prior to the decomposition of soft tissue. We additionally re-examine the spatial positioning of skeletal material and associated sediments within the Puzzle Box area, from which abundant H. naledi remains representing a minimum of six individuals were recovered in 2013 and 2014. Multiple lines of evidence exclude the hypothesis that skeletal remains from these three areas come from bodies that decomposed on the floor of t

SUBMITTER: Berger LR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12401548 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature