Journal eLife published and released a study saying that scientists have found evidence that our ancestor; Homo Sapiens, had another coexisting species called the Homo Naledi. In fact there might be a possibility that they were actually way more sophisticated than the Homo Sapiens.

The first Homo Naledi species were discovered two years ago at a cave site in South Africa called the Rising Star Cave System. 15 bodies were found deep underground far away from the entrance. They were lined up deliberately as if they were placed there for a reason. The fossils had modern-like human being features aside from the tiny head. At that time, scientists were unable to tell the timeline in which they might have existed. Finally, they came upon with a result which shook the history of human evolution.

The researchers had two main discoveries. First, they announced that the bones were at least 236,000~335,000 years old. This meant the Homo Naledi’s had lived around the same time as the Homo Sapiens did. Next, they reported that they have discovered a second cave with about 1500 skeletons, again lined up neatly, without any signs of scratches and damage. These two evidence led to one theory: the Homo Naledi’s had the knowledge to bury the dead.

If the Homo Naledi’s had actually done the burial of their own species, it adds another idea that they had the ability to control fire as well. The bodies were laid in the deep part of the cave and there was no way a human being could have seen anything without a light source.

Another interesting fact about Homo Naledi’s is that their bone structure showed that they might have existed and survived for as long as 2 millions ago. In order to be existing for that long of a span, they must have something different and special to create a major strength compared to the others. This shows that they were one of the most dominant species since then.

From this new reveal of our human history, it indicated that we have a long way to go to truly find out about our ancestors and how we became to be who we are. As this uncovering motivated the scientists, they will continue to search for our hidden mystery of human beings which turned out to be deeper than we thought.