Major new research claims smaller-brained Homo naledi made rock art and buried the dead. But the evidence is lacking

On September 13 2013, speleologists Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker descended deep into South Africa’s Rising Star cave system and discovered the first evidence of an extraordinary assemblage of hominin fossils.

To date, the remains of more than 15 individuals belonging to a previously unknown species of extinct human, dubbed Homo naledi, have been found in the cave. These short-statured, small-brained ancient cousins are thought to have lived in Southern Africa between 335,000 and 241,000 years ago.