Beyond the Bones: Why Homo naledi belongs in every science classroom

In my last blog post, I left you hanging with two scientific issues regarding Homo naledi—first was its age and second was seeing if all those fossils actually got into the Dinaledi chamber by way of the same 8-inch “chute” that the underground astronauts used to access the chamber. Upon the announcement of the Homo naledi discovery in 2015, one frustration for many people was … Continue reading Beyond the Bones: Why Homo naledi belongs in every science classroom

The “Sciencing” of Homo naledi

In my last two blog posts, I’ve detailed my connection with the team that discovered our new human relative Homo naledi, deep in the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. This discovery was announced to the world formally in September 2015 and was featured as the cover story of the October 2015 issue of National Geographic magazine. Ever since the announcement, I’ve been teaching about Homo … Continue reading The “Sciencing” of Homo naledi

Teaching Naledi: Two Years Getting to Know about and Share Our Newly Discovered Relative

In my last post, I shared with you the first part of my social media journey that brought me from utilizing YouTube back in 2007 to becoming connected with a fantastic science/adventure story that was the discovery of more than 1,500 human-like fossils in a South African cave called Rising Star. My students and I followed the s tory closely, which resulted in my creating … Continue reading Teaching Naledi: Two Years Getting to Know about and Share Our Newly Discovered Relative

Meet H. Naledi, a Long-Lost Ancestor

SCIENCE Scientists have discovered a new species of human ancestor deep in a South African cave, adding a baffling new branch to our family tree. (Nat Geo News) How might H. naledi change “Hominin History”? Browse our fun GeoStory to find out! Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources in our Teachers’ Toolkit. Discussion Ideas Nat Geo Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger led the … Continue reading Meet H. Naledi, a Long-Lost Ancestor