The discovery of the Dinaledi Chamber in the Rising Star cave system was as serendipitous as the discovery of the clavicle at Malapa. Two spelunkers, Steven Tucker and Rick Hunter were in the Dragons Back chamber late one night when Luke asked Steven to hunker down in a dip on the top ledge so that he could step over him to get a photograph of a flowstone. That action gave Steven the view of a crack not obviously visible when standing.

Down the crack he went. Some 12 metres down he found a toehold and dropped into a chamber that was not on the cave map. He called Rick down, shouting that he’d found a new chamber. Down came Rick and he photographed the chamber until his GoPro ran out of battery.

Only then did they look on the ground. Hey! That looks like someone’s jaw! That looks like a skull!  The rest is history, but it led to the unearthing of a new species of homonid that was to turn our understanding of brain evolution and our cognitive development on its’ head.

Homo naledi, with a brain a third of the size of modern humans, was practicing the sophisticated ritual of disposing of their dead some 250,000 years ago. Subsequent expeditions have found new evidence of site preparation and covering of the body – this changes disposal to burial. How could this be – it’s 200,000 years before there is evidence of modern humans doing the same? More revelations were to be in the pipeline.

Unlike Gladysvale Cave and the Malapa site, the Dinaledi Chamber is only accessible by very slim, very experienced cavers.

The full story is captured in Lee Bergers’ book “Cave of Bones”. Since the discovery of Australopithecus sediba at Malapa in 2008, Lee and his teams have discovered more homonid fossils than had been found by all the other scientists in the field combined.

The Malapa Museum at the Cradle Boutique Hotel, curated by Lee Berger, documents the ancient landscapes of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in short films and exhibits. The full skeleton of Australopithecus sediba is reconstructed to illustrate the size of the young male.

The fascinating story of the broader region is captured in the book titled “Cradle of Life” by Vincent Carruthers.

To join a tour into the ancient landscapes of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and to visit active dig sites at Gladysvale, Malapa and Motsetse contact info@aah-afrika.co.za