Speaker: Dr. Marina Elliott, Mount Royal University
Homo naledi and the Rising Star Cave
Discovered deep in the Rising Star Cave in South Africa in September 2013, *Homo naledi* is one of the newest members of the human family. Subsequent excavations recovered one of the largest assemblages of fossil hominins in the world, and the material is notable for the unprecedented quality and completeness of the remains. In addition, the nature of the deposit suggests that *Homo naledi* may have been engaging in complex behaviours previously assumed to have been practiced only by modern humans. Dr. Marina Elliott was one of six “Underground Astronauts” who originally excavated this remarkable find. From 2014-2019 she led the field work at Rising Star site and conducted research on *Homo naledi* and other early hominins. Returning to Canada in 2020, she now teaches at Mount Royal University and continues to investigate our collective past. In this lecture, Dr. Elliott will briefly recap the discovery and describe what the research to date has learned about the biology and behaviour of this fascinating new species.