New Human Species!

Today on September 10th, 2015 in South Africa, an international team of scientists convened to announce a new human species which was discovered in a South African cave. The species has been named, "H. Naledi" which is in reference to the cave in which the bones were found. Apparently the cave housed a "chamber" and the bones were a burial site for this species of human. The scientists have not yet been able to determine in which time period this species lived. A BBC article on the same subject goes on to describe how humans had many different species, one of which would eventually become the modern day human.

This finding is significant for two reasons. One being, this is a new species of human which in itself is a major discovery. The second is that the these humans buried the remains of their peers in a hidden tucked away area, "a behavior previously considered limited to modern humans."

The article is quite relevant to the beginning of our African Studies course, the origin of humans.

Source(s):
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-34192447
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/11/science/south-africa-fossils-new-species-human-ancestor-homo-naledi.html