Immature remains and the first partial skeleton of a juvenile Homo naledi, a late Middle Pleistocene hominin from South Africa
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Publication Date
4-1-2020
Abstract
Immature remains are critical for understanding maturational processes in hominin species as well as for interpreting changes in ontogenetic development in hominin evolution. The study of these subjects is hindered by the fact that associated juvenile remains are extremely rare in the hominin fossil record. Here we describe an assemblage of immature remains of Homo naledi recovered from the 2013–2014 excavation season. From this assemblage, we attribute 16 postcranial elements and a partial mandible with some dentition to a single juvenile Homo naledi individual. The find includes postcranial elements never before discovered as immature elements in the sub-equatorial early hominin fossil record, and contributes new data to the field of hominin ontogeny.
Keywords
Immature Remains, First Partial Skeleton, Juvenile Homo Naledi, Late Middle Pleistocene, Hominin, South Africa
Document Type
Article
Notes
South African Journal of Science, Vol. 15, no. 4 (2020-04-01).
Identifier
K26-05785
Recommended Citation
Bolter, D. R.; Elliott, M. C.; and Hawks, J., "Immature remains and the first partial skeleton of a juvenile Homo naledi, a late Middle Pleistocene hominin from South Africa" (2020). KIP Articles. 2741.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/kip_articles/2741
