Discovering Homo naledi

Found deep in the Rising Star cave in the Cradle of Humankind in September 2013, Homo naledi is the newest branch on the human family tree. Two short periods of excavation by an all-female team of palaeontologists led to the recovery of more than 1 500 individual remains of unprecedented quality and completeness.

Dr Marina Elliott was one of these six ‘underground astronauts’. Originally from Calgary, Canada, Elliott is currently a postdoctoral research fellow at Wits. She has continued to conduct research on the Homo naledi material as well as undertaking further explorations and excavations in the Cradle of Humankind.

In this lecture, Dr Elliott will share her experience of the Rising Star expedition and describe what the research to date has revealed about the biology and behaviour of Homo naledi.

Thursday, 8 September, 18:00–19:00, LT3 Kramer Building, middle campus

R80 (full fee), R40 (staff), R20 (students)

021 650 2888 / ems@uct.ac.za

Photo Flickr / GCIS. Homo naledi fossil discovered in the Rising Star cave.