{"id":7338,"date":"2021-06-22T12:12:15","date_gmt":"2021-06-22T16:12:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/?page_id=7338"},"modified":"2024-06-12T13:30:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T17:30:46","slug":"did-spiritual-beliefs-about-life-and-death-emerge-before-modern-humans","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/behavior\/did-spiritual-beliefs-about-life-and-death-emerge-before-modern-humans\/","title":{"rendered":"Did Spiritual Beliefs about Life and Death Emerge before Modern Humans?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<p><span>Burying the dead is a unique behavior to modern humans (<\/span><i><span>Homo sapiens<\/span><\/i><span>). Though a simple action, it is proof of complex social structures and abstract ideas. <\/span><i><span>Homo naledi<\/span><\/i><span>, an extinct \u201cHobbit\u201d species discovered in 2013, could have also buried their dead. The fossilized remains of several <\/span><i><span>H. naledi <\/span><\/i><span>were found in a remote part of the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. However, the only access to the chamber is a rugged route, including two extremely narrow tunnels that require an uncomfortable crawling position to go through.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"600\" height=\"330\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-7346\" src=\"https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-2-Ruohan1sm.png\" alt=\"Dinaledi Chamber diagram\" srcset=\"https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-2-Ruohan1sm.png 600w, https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-2-Ruohan1sm-300x165.png 300w, https:\/\/prod.wp.cdn.aws.wfu.edu\/sites\/88\/2021\/06\/Group-2-Ruohan1sm-597x328.png 597w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>A side view of the Rising Star Cave shows the difficulty Homo naledi would have had accessing the chamber.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span>Several hypotheses have tried to explain how the fossils ended up there: cave-in, animal scavenging, flood waters. However, only deliberate disposal explains the effort required to move the remains through the cave, but this hypothesis still lacks concrete evidence to support it. New evidence of how the fossils accumulated would still not reveal what motivated them to bury their dead. Whether <\/span><i><span>H. naledi<\/span><\/i><span> is the first hominin species to practice burial behavior, or if that distinction goes to modern humans, requires further study.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Inside the Dinaledi Chamber where #HomoNaledi was found\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5KV42ilLJeM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><em>Paleoanthropologists entering the cave demonstrate that bones were unlikely to have been accidentally left in the cave.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By Ruohan Li (\u201921)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-2 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:100%\">\n<h2 class=\"has-text-align-center has-mimic-h-5-font-size wp-block-heading\">Investigate other behavior questions<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-3 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/behavior\/did-early-hominins-use-tools-like-modern-chimps\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        Did Early Hominins Use Tools Like Modern Chimps?    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/behavior\/did-humans-evolve-to-live-in-pairs\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        Did Humans Evolve to Live in Pairs?    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\"><div class=\"wp-block-buttons\">\n        \n<div class=\"wp-block-button\">\n    <a href=\"https:\/\/lammuseum.wfu.edu\/exhibits\/virtual\/human-evolution\/\" class=\"wp-block-button__link\">\n        Human Evolution Exhibit Home    <\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Burying the dead is a unique behavior to modern humans (Homo sapiens). Though a simple action, it is proof of complex social structures and abstract ideas. Homo naledi, an extinct \u201cHobbit\u201d species discovered in 2013, could have also buried their dead. The fossilized remains of [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":201,"featured_media":0,"parent":7290,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"overlay_title":false,"hide_featured_image_post":false,"wfu_hide_page_title":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-7338","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Did Spiritual Beliefs about Life and Death Emerge before Modern Humans? - Timothy S. Y. 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