Rising Star Expedition
In November of 2013, the first palaeoanthropological expedition of its kind was launched in the Cradle of Humankind, Gauteng Province, South Africa. Named “Rising Star” after the cave system that was its focus, the Rising Star Expedition has produced over 1550 hominin fossils of the newly identified human relative, Homo naledi. Aside from the incredible wealth of fossils recovered from this enigmatic species, Rising Star stands out as the first early hominin excavation to be assembled using and then broadcast live over social media. Today, Rising Star Expedition shines as a beacon of open science and continues to share its secrets with the public as they become known to the scientists working on them. Experience prehistory in the making as you look over the shoulders of our world-class team of scientists and explorers as they work on the largest fossil hominin site on the continent of Africa!
Discovery in the Chamber of Stars
On Friday the 13th in October 2013, two recreational cavers, Steven Tucker and Rick Hunter, made an extraordinary discovery. While “pushing” the well-known Rising Star cave system near Sterkfontein Caves, they stumbled upon an obscured, crack-like passage into an uncharted underground chamber.
Once they had slithered down the 12-meter-long (almost 40-foot-long) vertical entrance chute, with a 20-centimeter-wide (just over a foot and a half wide) pinch point (like crawling through a tennis racket), they found themselves in a small, subterranean room whose floor was virtuallylly littered with bones everywhere; [insert photo of bones credit: Matthew Berger]. 
The Dinaledi Chamber strewn with fossil bones pre-excavation.
Photo Credit: Matthew Berger One bone in particular, a mandible (lower jaw), caught their eye, and they began to worry that perhaps they had discovered the last caver to have been in their place.
The jaw bone that started all the fuss. Photo Credit: Matthew Berger
Remembering that a fellow caver, Pedro Boshoff, had told them of a local professor interested in such bones, they returned a week later to photograph the remarkable assemblage.
That local professor Boshoff had mentioned? He was none other than Lee Berger (University of the Witwatersrand) of Australopithecus sediba fame. When Berger took one look at the photographs, he knew something incredible lay in that underground chamber. The trouble was, that from Tucker and Hunter’s accounts, he also knew that there was no way that he would fit down the entrance chute, nor would any of his regular colleagues. Mind racing with possibilities, Berger chose an unconventional route to assemble a qualified team of professionals that could work under these unusual and confining conditions; he turned to Facebook. Underground Astronauts from Digital Space
Following a worldwide call over social media, out of almost 60 applicants, 6 women were chosen that fit the unique professional and athletic criteria required by the demanding climb into what has become known as the Dinaledi Chamber (Chamber of Stars). Dubbed the “Underground Astronauts,” these early-career scientists, Marina Elliott (Simon Fraser University), Elen Feuerriegel (the Australian National University) Alia Gurtov (University of Wisconsin-Madison), K. Lindsay (Sepela Field Programs), Hannah Morris (University of Georgia), and Becca Peixotto (American University), hailed from Canada, Australia, and the United States.
The "Underground Astronauts"
in order from left to right: Becca Peixotto, Alia Gurtov, Elen Feuerriegel, Marina Elliott, Lindsay Hunter, and Hannah Morris. Photo Credit: John Hawks |
Could YOU be an Underground Astronaut?
The social media ad Lee Berger posted online to assemble his 2013 Rising Star excavation team. (Credit: Facebook)
With this broad skillset, the specialists that excavated the fossils of Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber deep within the Rising Star cave system, represent a kind of throwback to the adventurer-scientists of the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, the science they practiced is entirely cutting-edge.
Rising Star Workshop
Following the close of the 2013 Rising Star Expedition, 1200 fossil elements had been recovered for study. A 10-day mini-expedition in March of 2014 added 350 more pieces to the puzzle. This remarkable amount of material required a large team of scientists for interpretation. Again, Berger turned to social media.
In May 2014, the Rising Star Workshop, the first of its kind, united the skills of early-career researchers and seasoned veterans under the roof of the new Phillip V. Tobias Fossil Primate and Hominid Vault at the freshly established Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) at the University of the Witwatersrand. This team of 30+ scientists from around the world (Italy, Spain, Ethiopia, Australia, England, Switzerland, Tanzania, China, Canada, the United States, and South Africa), boasted specialties in complementary fields, from geology to minute details of hominin anatomy. 
The 2014 Rising Star Workshop participants came from across the globe. Photo Credit: Zach Throckmorton
Together, they continued the work begun in November of 2013, identifying and interpreting the now 1550+ fossils. The result of their month of careful study and collaboration was numerous papers collecting our current knowledge on what was determined to be a never-before-seen species of fossil hominin, they named Homo naledi.
Meet the familyBy the end of 2015, Homo naledi was finally ready for its formal introduction to the scientific community and to the world. At a press conference held at Maropeng, the Official Visitor Centre of the Cradle of Humankind, on September 10, 2015, the fossils of Homo naledi were unveiled to much fanfare.
Following their dramatic presentation to society, the fossils retired to the exhibition area of Maropeng until November 5, 2015. During that time, members of the public were able to observe the original remains firsthand, as well as artifacts from the 2013 expedition. As an added bonus, members of the excavation and exploration teams were on-hand daily to help interpret the fossils and share their first-person experiences of science and adventure [Insert photos from Maropeng]. 
RISING STAR EXPEDITION BLOG
Wish you'd been there when the excavations began? You're in luck. The entire expedition was chronicled by the National Geographic Society in real time in text, photos, and videos. Relive the excitement as it was felt by the participants as it happened. |
RISING STAR EXPEDITION VIDEOS
Witness the thrill of exploration and discovery in this series of expedition videos shot and edited in the field during the initial excavations of the Rising Star cave system.
Witness the thrill of exploration and discovery in this series of expedition videos shot and edited in the field during the initial excavations of the Rising Star cave system.
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