{"id":21689,"date":"2022-12-07T16:47:16","date_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:47:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/07\/archaeologists-claim-homo-naledi-used-fire-to-cook-navigate-dark-caves\/"},"modified":"2022-12-07T16:47:16","modified_gmt":"2022-12-07T16:47:16","slug":"archaeologists-claim-homo-naledi-used-fire-to-cook-navigate-dark-caves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/07\/archaeologists-claim-homo-naledi-used-fire-to-cook-navigate-dark-caves\/","title":{"rendered":"Archaeologists Claim Homo Naledi Used Fire to Cook, Navigate Dark Caves"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\n
This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page. Terms of use<\/a>.<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
\n\"\" <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

(Photo: Wil Stewart\/Unsplash)<\/small><\/center>A group of scientists who recently completed an expedition through South Africa\u2019s Rising Star cave system has made a bold announcement: Homo naledi<\/em>, an early human species with a brain one-third the size of ours today, might have used fire to cook and see in the dark.<\/p>\n

Expedition lead and University of the Witwatersrand professor Lee Berger shared<\/a> his team\u2019s discovery at a Carnegie Science talk last week. Berger claims he and a fellow archaeologist were exploring Rising Star, a secluded underground labyrinth, earlier this year when he noticed the \u201croof\u201d of a cave was charred. Some rocks seemed to be covered in soot. Berger\u2019s colleague, Dr. Keneiloe Molopyane, proceeded to locate a pile of charred antelope bones within what appeared to be a hearth.<\/p>\n

Rising Star is known for its association with Homo naledi<\/i>, a primitive human believed to have lived in the labyrinth\u2019s many caves 230,000 to 330,000 years ago. H. naledi<\/i> fossils were discovered there in 2013; even since, the species and its dwelling have remained relatively untouched thanks to the cave system\u2019s extremely tight passageways. It allegedly took Berger losing 55 pounds to squeeze through some parts of Rising Star to explore H. naledi<\/i>\u2019s way of life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Professor Lee Berger. (Photo: Wits University)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Researchers previously believed H. naledi<\/i> and some other early humans were incapable of producing and using fire. With its slight, 88-pound stature, small brain, and chimpanzee-like skull, the hominin has been assumed inept at even the earliest and simplest technological advances. But Berger\u2019s and Molopyane\u2019s discovery makes sense. Until now, researchers haven\u2019t quite understood how H. naledi <\/i>navigated and resided in dark underground caves. Previous studies have shown the species tended to cook in one part of a cave while disposing of deceased kin in another, which would have been difficult without a light source. If this year\u2019s findings are well-founded, they could answer the question of how H. naledi made do in such dark conditions\u2014and change how we understand the evolution of humans and their technologies.<\/p>\n

But Berger and his team will have to answer to quite a bit of controversy first. Their findings have yet to be peer-reviewed or otherwise analyzed and published, leaving fellow archaeologists and laypeople alike to wonder whether they should take these discoveries at face value. Berger\u2019s choice to announce his and Molopyane\u2019s findings via lecture instead of via conventional means has spurred a healthy dose of skepticism among researchers. Further review will be necessary to determine whether the charred remains of a potential fire will carry the impact Berger says it does.<\/p>\n

Now Read:<\/b><\/p>\n

<\/span>\n<\/div>\n