An international team analyzed peptide fragments extracted from 23 fossilized teeth recovered in the cave's Dinaledi Chamber, confirming the proteins were genuinely ancient. None of the samples yielded Amelogenin-Y, a Y-chromosome protein typically used to identify biological males. This striking absence could resolve a long-standing mystery regarding why the adult fossils shared such unusually uniform physical features. However, scientists note that an isolated population could have alternatively lost the specific male gene marker through mutation.
Key points
The missing male protein markers may indicate *Homo naledi* practiced deliberate, sex-seg…: The missing male protein markers may indicate *Homo naledi* practiced deliberate, sex-segregated burial customs previously attributed only to *Homo sapiens*.
A single-sex mortuary space offers a possible answer to the decade-long puzzle of low phy…: A single-sex mortuary space offers a possible answer to the decade-long puzzle of low physical variation among the chamber's adult fossils.
Researchers acknowledge the population might instead have experienced genetic mutations t…: Researchers acknowledge the population might instead have experienced genetic mutations that eliminated the male protein marker due to extreme isolation.
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- Date:
- November 11, 2026
- Source:
- University of York
- Summary:
- A remarkable discovery in a South African cave suggests that an extinct human relative may have created an all-female burial site more than 240,000 years ago. Scientists analyzed ancient proteins preserved in Homo naledi teeth and found no male-specific markers among at least 20 individuals, potentially solving a mystery that has puzzled researchers for over a decade.
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Deep inside South Africa's Rising Star Cave system, scientists have uncovered a surprising clue about an extinct human relative that lived hundreds of thousands of years ago. For the first time, researchers have recovered and studied ancient proteins from Homo naledi fossils, revealing evidence that the cave may have contained an exclusively female burial site.
The discovery, published in the journal Cell, raises an extraordinary possibility. The cave could represent the earliest known burial location reserved for one sex by a human relative other than Homo sapiens.
Homo naledi lived approximately 335,000 to 241,000 years ago and has fascinated scientists since its discovery in 2013. This…
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