The new fashion Homo: Homo naledi

New specie of the early human lineage has been discovered, the Homo Naledi, which means star in the Sotho language. 15 individuals were found with almost all their bones. Lee R. Berger said, "The Homo naledi, is practically already the best-known fossil member of our lineage". Two local cavers discovered the almost inaccesible chamber with the bones in the Rising Star Cave System by chance in South Africa, closed to Johannesburg.

This ancient specie seems to be a combination of pre-humans and modern humans.The cranial morphology is similar to the one in other early Homo species(H.erectus, H.habilis, H.rudolfensis…), but shows some differences which make it unique. The naledis share more features with the Australopithecus and the early human species, such as the small brain size, the form of the shoulders, the hip joint and the curved fingers. On the other hand, the wrist, the legs and the feet are enough evidence to compare the naledis with Neanderthals and modern humans. The Homo Naledi´s thumbs are equal to the Neanderthals´. Homo naledis also show some manipulatory adaptations on hands, which makes us think that they were able to both climb trees and walk.

The fossils remain undated but their morphological characteristics are almost enough to reveal their antiquity. Berger suggests the possibility of the bones to be older than 2 million years, which would suppose that Homo naledi is really closed to the origin of the complex genus Homo, that now is believed to be polyphyletic.