Berger has named the fossils Homo naledi: Homo indicating the creature's place in human evolution, and naledi being the word for "star" in the local Sotho language.
Berger claims it is a new species of human relative, likely from around the beginning of the evolution of the Homo genus. That would make the creatures somewhere around 2.5 million to 2.8 million years old.
"It's got a tiny head and ape-like body, but arms and legs that are very human-like, something completely unexpected and we found it in incredible abundance," he said. They believe Homo naledi walked upright.
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