Homo naledi

American  

[hoh-moh nah-led-ee] / ˈhoʊ moʊ nɑˈlɛd i /

noun

1. an extinct species of hominin classified within the genus Homo but on a branch other than that of modern humans: the first fossil specimens, originally assessed at about two million years of age, were discovered northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2013, but a more recent dating of 235,000–335,000 years places them in a time when more modern, larger-brained hominins were already living.

2. a fossil belonging to this species.

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Etymology

Origin of Homo naledi

First recorded in 2010–15; from New Latin; Homo ( def. ) + Sotho naledi “star,” from the name Dinaledi (Chamber), “(chamber) of stars” in the Rising Star cave system where the fossils were found

Example Sentences

"But it could be a different species - Homo erectus or Homo naledi - there were a number of hominid species around at that time in southern Africa."

From BBC • Sep. 20, 2023

They belong to Australopithecus sediba, which lived around 2 million years ago, and the roughly 250,000-year-old Homo naledi.

From Scientific American • Sep. 13, 2023

And Paul Pettitt, an archaeologist at Durham University in England, said it was possible that Homo naledi did not bring the bodies in, either for caching or burying.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2023

With it come expectations of more discoveries of how Homo naledi lived, and how they’re related to us—or not.

From National Geographic • Jun. 5, 2023