NYAS @ WGF: “The strange case of Homo naledi, our newest extinct relative” [REGISTRATION REQUIRED]

**IMPORTANT NOTE**: Beginning with this meeting, interested parties will have to PRE-REGISTER with THE NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES prior to attending.

Monday, January 25, 2016

NYAS returns for the first lecture of 2016! It’s a big one, folks. The New York Academy of Science and the Wenner-Gren Foundation welcome William Harcourt-Smith (American Museum of Natural History) and Scott Williams (New York University) to discuss one of the biggest anthropology stories of last year, and perhaps even this century. Our president, Leslie C. Aiello, will act as discussant.

The new hominin species, Homo naledi, was discovered in South Africa’s Rising Star cave system in late 2013 and announced to the world just a few months ago. Based on over 1,500 identifiable remains, ranging from infants to the elderly, H. naledi is known from nearly every bone, and represents one of the largest and most complete discoveries in the field of paleoanthropology. The combination of anatomical features demonstrated in this assemblage suggests to us that it is both a member of the genus Homo and that it represents a new species. The geological and depositional context of the remains is also highly unusual. The Dinaledi Chamber, where the remains were discovered, is both virtually devoid of non-hominin fauna and extremely difficult to access, which are probably related. We discuss the skeletal morphology and inferred evolutionary position of H. naledi, as well as the implications of the unusual context of this discovery.

There will be a dinner and reception at 6PM: free for students; $20 for others.
The Lecture will be begin at 7PM.

Once again, pre-registration is required to attend the lecture.