Underground Astronauts

The Underground Astronauts is the name given to a group of six scientists[1] who excavated the bones of Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber in South Africa.[2][3] Hannah Morris, Marina Elliott, Becca Peixotto, Alia Gurtov, K. Lindsay (then Eaves) Hunter,[4] and Elen Feuerriegel were selected by expedition leader Lee Rogers Berger.[5][6]

Cross-section of the Rising Star Cave system

In November 2013, the National Geographic Society and the University of the Witwatersrand funded an expedition called Rising Star Expedition for a twenty-one day excavation at the cave,[7] followed by a second expedition in March 2014 for a 4-week excavation in the Dinaledi Chamber. In total, the expedition retrieved 1,550 pieces of bone belonging to at least fifteen individuals, found within 1 m2 of clay-rich sediments.[8] They entered a narrow opening in the cave to reach the chamber where the bones were located,[9] and as the expedition was dangerous, they were named the Underground Astronauts.[10]

Excavator team

See also

References
  1. "These 6 women risked death for an amazing scientific discovery". Tech Insider. Retrieved 2016-01-07.
  2. "Meet the "underground astronauts"". CNN. 2015-09-10. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  3. Bennett, Amanda; Geographic, National (2015-09-17). "Wanted: Fit, Fearless Scientist for Huge Underground Find". National Geographic News. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  4. Hunter, K. Lindsay (1 Sep 2017). "K. Lindsay Hunter". LinkedIn. Retrieved 1 Sep 2017.
  5. Feltman, Rachel (September 10, 2015). "Meet the six female 'underground astronauts' who recovered our newest relative". The Washington Post. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  6. Smith, David (10 September 2015). "'Small spelunkers required': the ad that led to the discovery of Homo naledi". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  7. Bascomb, Bobby (10 September 2015). "Archaeology's Disputed Genius". PBS. Retrieved 22 September 2015.
  8. Howley, Andrew (6 November 2013). "Rising Star Expedition: Prehistory in the Making". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 9 September 2015. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  9. McKenzie, David; Wende, Hamilton (2015-09-10). "Homo naledi: New species of human ancestor discovered". CNN. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  10. eNCA (2015-09-14). "'Underground astronaut' shares Homo naledi experience". eNCA. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
  11. "Who are the Underground Astronauts?". EWN. Retrieved 2016-01-05.
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