RESEARCHERS SAY THEY'VE DISCOVERED A PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN RELATIVE OF HUMANS. HERE'S A QUICK LOOK AT THE DISCOVERY
WHAT DID THEY FIND?
* Some 1,550 fossils, from the skeletons of at least 15 individuals, in a cave about 50 km northwest of Johannesburg.
HOW OLD ARE THE BONES?
* Nobody knows. The researchers say they've been unable to get a date, but that they will keep trying.
WHAT IS THIS CREATURE?
* Scientists believe it's new to science but a member of the evolutionary group called Homo, which includes modern people and our closest extinct relatives. The researchers believe it's an early member of Homo, but no a direct ancestor of modern people.
WHAT DO THEY CALL IT?
* Homo naledi (nah-LEH-dee). The second name, which means "star" in a local language, was chosen because the bones were found in the Rising Star cave system.
HOW DID THE BONES GET INTO THE CAVE?
* That's a mystery. They were found in a room that can be reached only by following a complicated pathway and squeezing through narrow passages. There's no sign that naledi lived there. The bones evidently were not dragged in by predators. The room may have been used to dispose of bodies.
