Did Early Humans Also Hold Funerals... If True, It Could Overturn Human History

Traces Found of Body Burial and Grave Decoration
"If True, It Changes the Premise of Human Evolution"

The archaeological community is abuzz following research suggesting that early humans may have performed burial rituals such as burying the dead and decorating walls.

On the 5th (local time), American daily newspapers The New York Times (NYT) and The Washington Post (WP) reported new research findings presented by paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, at a conference held at Stony Brook University, New York State, about ‘Homo naledi’.

Homo naledi became known to the world when the expedition team led by Dr. Berger discovered fossilized skeletal remains in the ‘Rising Star’ cave near Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013. The name naledi is derived from the Sesotho word for ‘star’ in South Africa.

Homo naledi not only had a small brain size but was also about 150 cm tall and weighed only 45 kg. It possessed characteristics of both apes and early humans and is estimated to have lived approximately 330,000 to 230,000 years ago, possibly coexisting with Homo sapiens, the ancestors of modern humans.

At that time, Dr. Berger found charcoal from burnt wood, soot on the cave walls, and charred deer bones during additional excavations in the cave. Based on this, he confidently proposed the hypothesis that Homo naledi, an early human with a small brain who likely shared parts of Africa with Homo sapiens, used fire for various purposes.

However, this time he added the claim that “following further investigation of the cave, Homo naledi may not only have buried their dead but also engraved symbols on the walls to mark the location of the graves.” This is based on the discovery of complete skeletal fossils in an oval-shaped depression underground and traces of geometric patterns carved on nearby walls.

Dr. Lee is holding the skull of Homo naledi
[Photo by AP Yonhap News]

The research team explained, “An orange clay layer surrounds the grave, which could not have been collected inside the grave, and the edges are clean. It is difficult to believe that the bones sank simply due to erosion.”

Additionally, the team interpreted that traces of fire use near the bones suggest Homo naledi lit fires to enter the cave and may have cooked animals for rituals. The team plans to examine samples such as the wall paintings, charcoal, and soot, but this work could take several years.

Dr. Agustin Fuentes of Princeton University, a member of the research team, said, “Considering the number of skeletons, such behavior may have continued over hundreds of years.” He also pointed out that such practices are difficult to develop without complex communication, suggesting the possibility that Homo naledi had some level of language ability.

Intentional burial of the dead is known to have been practiced only by modern humans. The oldest known graves are estimated to be 70,000 to 90,000 years old. Therefore, if the research team’s claim is correct, Homo naledi, which lived 240,000 to 500,000 years ago, would have performed a form of funeral rites.

The NYT reported, “If the research team’s claim is confirmed, it will overturn an important assumption about human evolution.” Paleoanthropologists have assumed that larger brains enable more complex thinking. However, if Homo naledi, with a brain only one-third the size of modern humans, conducted funerals, this premise must be reconsidered.

However, some in the academic community argue that the evidence discovered so far does not sufficiently support the research team’s claims. Maria Martinon-Torres of the Centro Nacional de Investigaci?n sobre la Evoluci?n Humana in Spain countered, “The skeletons were not completely aligned,” and said, “This should be seen as ‘caching,’ placing bodies on the cave floor, rather than burial.”

Michael Petraglia of the Australian Research Centre for Human Evolution also pointed out the need for detailed sediment analysis data. Paul Pettitt, an archaeologist at Durham University in the UK, mentioned the possibility that the bones were swept into the cave.