Homo naledi Cave Holds 20 Female Remains, Pointing to 250,000-Year Sex-Selected Burials
Updated
Updated · thenakedscientists.com · Jun 24
Homo naledi Cave Holds 20 Female Remains, Pointing to 250,000-Year Sex-Selected Burials
3 articles · Updated · thenakedscientists.com · Jun 24
Summary
Twenty Homo naledi individuals from South Africa’s Dinaledi Chamber were identified as female after protein tests on 23 tooth-enamel samples found no Y-chromosome amelogenin marker.
Lee Berger said the result overturns earlier assumptions that the larger skeletons were male and strengthens the case that the deep cave was used repeatedly to place selected female dead there over time.
The chamber, hundreds of metres into the Rising Star cave system near Johannesburg, contains almost no other large animal remains and shows no sign of carnivores or catastrophe, making deliberate body placement the leading explanation.
Researchers also cite graves, geometric wall engravings and evidence of fire in the cave system, arguing Homo naledi—with a chimp-sized brain—practised a complex mortuary culture focused on women and girls.
Why did an ancient human relative bury only its females deep inside a treacherous cave?
Did small-brained ancestors have social rituals once thought exclusive to modern humans?
Exclusive Female Homo naledi Assemblage Found: 20 Fossils from Rising Star Cave Challenge Evolutionary Assumptions
Overview
A groundbreaking study released on June 24, 2026, revealed that all 20 Homo naledi individuals sampled from the Rising Star cave system appear to be female. Using advanced protein analysis on tooth enamel, researchers found a consistent absence of the Y-chromosome-linked amelogenin protein, strongly indicating a uniformly female group. The chance of randomly finding only females in a mixed-sex population is extremely low, making this discovery highly significant. This finding challenges long-held beliefs about early hominin social structures and biology, marking a pivotal moment that prompts a major re-evaluation of Homo naledi and our understanding of human evolution.