Ancient human relative may have buried only females
Scientists analyzing protein fragments from Homo naledi teeth discovered that the remains in a specific cave chamber were exclusively female. This suggests the extinct human relative may have practiced sex-specific mortuary rituals, a behavior previously associated only with modern humans.
Why it matters
This discovery challenges our understanding of the cognitive and social complexity of early human relatives.
Scientists have extracted the first protein fragments ever recovered from the teeth of Homo naledi , an extinct human relative discovered in South Africa.
The article reports on scientific findings using neutral, evidence-based language.
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