An examination of Homo naledi early juveniles recovered from the Rising Star cave system, South Africa

Six early juveniles were recovered from U.W. 101 (Dinaledi Chamber), U.W. 102 (Lesedi Chamber), and U.W. 110 in the Rising Star cave system. This paper develops the information for the early juvenile life stage, as defined by a combination of deciduous and permanent dentition, and the eruption of th...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annals of human biology 2024-12, Vol.51 (1), p.2321128-2321128
Main Authors: Brophy, Juliet K, Bolter, Debra R, Elliott, Marina, Hawks, John, Berger, Lee R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
deciduous
dentition
early juvenile
Fossils
Hominidae
Homo naledi
Humans
Phenotype
Rising Star
South Africa
Tooth
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Summary:Six early juveniles were recovered from U.W. 101 (Dinaledi Chamber), U.W. 102 (Lesedi Chamber), and U.W. 110 in the Rising Star cave system. This paper develops the information for the early juvenile life stage, as defined by a combination of deciduous and permanent dentition, and the eruption of the first permanent molar. The growing number of young individuals recovered from the Rising Star cave system allows us to gain a better understanding of their variation, or lack thereof, and provides a basis to estimate broad ranges for age at death of the individuals. The individuals are identified and described through craniodental remains and spatial associations. Our results show that the teeth are remarkably consistent across the localities in their metric and non-metric traits, and our analyses refine previous estimations on dental eruptions with the first permanent molar erupting first in the sequence among permanent teeth.
ISSN:0301-4460
1464-5033
DOI:10.1080/03014460.2024.2321128