On Wednesday 11 May, at 18.00 in Rutherford Lecture Theatre One, Dr Tracy Kivell will give a Rutherford Grass Roots Lecture entitled: ‘The many mysteries of our newest extinct relative: Homo naledi and the Rising Star Cave’.
Last autumn, a new species of fossil human was announced to the world called Homo naledi. Over 1500 fossil specimens from at least 15 individuals have been uncovered from the Rising Star cave system in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa since 2013. The exceptional preservation of these fossils, the unusual combinations of anatomy, and the unique context in which these fossils were found have elicited not only the naming of a new species, but also extraordinary hypotheses about how these fossil humans ended up deep in the cave. Dr Kivell discuss the morphology and context of the new Homo naledi fossils and how they are changing our current understanding of human evolution.
This lecture has been organised in conjunction with the Former Staff Association and is free and open to all.