29 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Fossil of a hominid child who died almost 250,000 years ago discovered in South Africa

A team of international and South African researchers uncovered the fossil remains of an early hominid kid who died almost 250,000 years ago in a cave in South Africa.

Children’s fossilized remains are uncommon because their bones are too thin and fragile to survive for eons.

The self-proclaimed Cradle of Humankind, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999, is a series of limestone caverns located approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Johannesburg. The most recent discovery was discovered around 30 meters (100 feet) below the earth).

The researchers revealed the finding of a partial skull and teeth of a Homo Naledi kid who died over 250,000 years ago when it was between the ages of four and six. According to the statement made Thursday, the remains were discovered in a secluded portion of the cave, which suggests that the person was deliberately deposited there, maybe as a form of tomb.

Meet Leti, a Homo naledi child discovered in the Rising Star Cave System that yielded Africa’s richest site for fossil hominins. (Wits University)
Leti, a Homo Naledi child discovered in the Rising Star Cave System that yielded Africa’s richest site for fossil hominins. (Wits University)

The placement “adds mystery as to how these many remains came to be in these remote, dark spaces of the Rising Star Cave system,” Professor Guy Berger of the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, who led the team said in an announcement Thursday.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



“Homo Naledi remains one of the most enigmatic ancient human relatives ever discovered,” said Berger. “It is clearly a primitive species, existing at a time when previously we thought only modern humans were in Africa. Its very presence at that time and in this place complexifies our understanding of who did what first concerning the invention of complex stone tool cultures and even ritual practices.”

Homo Naledi is an archaic human species discovered in the Rising Star Cave, Cradle of Humankind, 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg. Homo Naledi lived between 335,000 and 236,000 years ago, during the Middle Pleistocene epoch. The first finding, made public in 2015, consists of 1,550 specimens representing 737 distinct elements and at least 15 different persons.

The original discovery made public in 2015, complicated our understanding of human development by demonstrating that Homo sapiens most likely coexisted with other species of hominin – the term for hominids that include anatomically modern man.

The new discovery is described in two papers in the journal, PaleoAnthropology.

Related Articles

3,000-Year-Old Twisted Gold Torc Discovered in Essex, southeast England

16 July 2023

16 July 2023

A metal detectorist has discovered a 3,000-year-old part of a twisted gold torc in a field near Mistley, on the...

Three New Domus de Janas Unearthed in Sardinia: 5,000-Year-Old “Fairy Houses” Discovered

29 July 2025

29 July 2025

Hidden beneath the rugged landscapes of Sardinia lie the silent dwellings of an ancient world — the Domus de Janas,...

Falaj al Misfah: Working for a thousand years

26 September 2021

26 September 2021

The village of Al Misfah Abriyeen is known for its lush oasis, magnificent orchards, and year-round water source, the ‘aflaj.’...

Anaweka Waka: New Zealand’s Most Significant Archaeological Find Gets a Permanent Home

29 July 2025

29 July 2025

Discovered in 2012, New Zealand’s most significant archaeological find may soon become the centerpiece of a purpose-built wharewaka in Golden...

The sword, thought to be a replica, turned out to be an authentic 3000-year-old Bronze Age sword

22 January 2023

22 January 2023

A sword in Chicago’s Field Museum that was previously thought to be a replica has been revealed to be an...

In Lake Mendota, Wisconsin archaeologists discover the oldest canoe ever found in the Great Lakes region

23 September 2022

23 September 2022

A group of divers from Madison, Wisconsin’s Lake Mendota emerged on Thursday carrying a remarkable piece of history for the...

In the “Siberian Valley of the Kings”, archaeologists have discovered a burial mound containing ornate treasures dating back 2,500 years

20 January 2022

20 January 2022

A Polish-Russian team of archaeologists, excavating in the “Siberian Valley of the Kings” have announced the discovery of a burial...

1700-year-old weaving workshop discovered in southeast Turkey

4 December 2021

4 December 2021

Excavations carried out in the ancient city of Perre in the southeastern province of Adıyaman have unearthed a 1,700-year-old weaving...

Interesting discovery at Crowland digs, a human poo from the Saxon period or coprolite found

16 August 2021

16 August 2021

Excavations in Abbey Church Field in Crowland, near Peterborough, have also yielded such amazing finds results for archaeologists. The archaeological...

2,000-year-old unique luxury Roman villa with “underfloor heating” found in Germany

3 November 2022

3 November 2022

A luxury Roman villa with a thermal bath and underfloor heating has been unearthed in Kempten, Bavaria, one of the...

Earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK came from Stonehenge

20 May 2022

20 May 2022

Researchers think they have discovered the earliest evidence for intestinal parasites in the UK. Ancient poop found at the site...

Remains of ‘female vampire’ found with sickle across her neck and a padlocked toe in Poland

2 September 2022

2 September 2022

A skeleton of what archaeologists believe may have been a 17th-century female vampire has been discovered near Bydgoszcz in Poland....

A Mikveh or Jewish ritual bath discovered in basement of former strip club in Poland

24 August 2023

24 August 2023

Marian Zwolski, a Chmielnik businessman, bought a former nightclub that had been closed for 15 years a few years ago....

The Oldest Odin Inscription in the World Found in the Vindelev treasure

8 March 2023

8 March 2023

Scientists have identified the earliest known inscription referring to the Norse god Odin on part of a gold disc unearthed...

Historic Discovery in Karahantepe: The First T-Shaped Pillar with a Human Face Unearthed

6 October 2025

6 October 2025

Archaeologists working under the Taş Tepeler Project, led by Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism, have made a groundbreaking discovery...