One review of the more recent evidence is from a popular science article in Scie

Question

One review of the more recent evidence is from a popular science article in Scientific American: “New Evidence of Mysterious Homo naledi Raises Questions about How Humans Evolved:

The much-anticipated dating of the enigmatic species, along with stunning new fossils, challenge key assumptions about human evolution.”

By Kate Wong on May 10, 2017

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/new-evidence-of-mysterious-homo-naledi-raises-questions-about-how-humans-evolved/

1) Imagine you have just received a million-dollar grant from NSF. You proposed to collect multiple lines of evidence from the new H. naledi fossils found in an adjacent cave in the Rising Star Complex (referred to in the Scientific American article cited above.) Tell me

What data you would collect to verify the age of the fossils

What other fossil information you would try to collect to learn more about this hominin, and

Describe at least one hypothesis you want to explore to place H. naledi in a phylogeny of hominin evolution. (Be specific. Think about how phylogenies are developed and what they can tell us about selection.)

Explanation / Answer

1) The age of fossils can be determined using relative dating and radiocarbon dating. In relative dating, the samples are obtained from the sedimentary rocks above and below the fossil remains. In radiocarbon dating, the samples are taken directly from the fossil remains to determine nuclear decay of radioactive carbon. Radioactive dacay of uranium and thorium can also be used to determine age of fossils. Knowing about the structure and shape of bones especially skull from the fossil remains will help us to understand more about H.naledi. Phylogenic tree is constructed based on the degree of resemblence between and within the groups. Behavior and cognitive abilities of different species can be used to construct phylogenetic tree of hominin group. H.naledi made middle age stone tools and placed dead bodies deep inside the caves. These findings place H.naledi between H.neanderthalensis and H.sapiens in the evolution of hominin group.

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