EveryHomo nalediwe know of is female, and the implications are fascinating

Recent discoveries in South Africa's Rising Star Cave have unveiled a remarkable aspect of the ancient species Homo naledi: all skeletons retrieved from this site are female, a fact that raises intriguing questions about their burial practices. In 2013, an expedition led by anthropologist Lee Berger unearthed over 20 small-bodied hominin remains, dating back between 335,000 and 236,000 years. The findings ignited debates regarding whether these hominins accidentally found their way to the cave or if they were purposefully placed there by their kin. New research has provided compelling evidence supporting the latter theory. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, led by molecular scientist Palesa Madupe, conducted a detailed analysis of dental enamel proteins from 23 teeth found across four chambers within the cave. Their findings revealed that all samples contained a protein known as amelogenin-X (AMELX), which is linked to the X-chromosome, while the male counterpart, AMELY, associated with the Y-chromosome, was absent. This absence of AMELY suggests that every Homo naledi skeleton examined is genetically female. The probability of this occurrence being coincidental is extremely low, calculated at around 0.0000954 percent—akin to flipping a coin 20 times and landing on the same side each time. This striking revelation implies a more intentional behavior among these ancient hominins, possibly indicating ritualistic practices concerning their dead in the depths of Rising Star Cave.