I read a news article today about the first child fossil of an ancient human species known as Homo Naledi. Homo Naledi was one of the few species of human, similar to Homo Sapiens like ourselves, and the well-known Homo Erectus, that once roamed the land. The skull was estimated to be between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago, and is called “Leti” by experts. As mentioned in the book, “Sapiens”, by Yuval Noah Harari, fossils of children are much harder to find preserved because of their delicate condition ; however, they hold a trove of information with them, including traditions, determined by the conditions of the discovery site, and other data, such as living conditions and etc. What I found interesting about Leti was the fact that its discovery led to hypotheses regarding burial rituals of ancient humans, and ultimately led to the discovery of other human fossils in the same cave system.

Check out “Sapiens” by Yuval Noah Harari, and the CNN article about this discovery if you’re interested for more information!