An extinct species of human was recently discovered in South Africa. The scientists have named it homo naledi. The discovery was made quite by accident, as a couple of amateur caver explorers, those who engage in the recreational pastime of exploring wild cave systems, stumbled upon the bones of human beings. These remains were found in a remote cavern at the end of a system of caves, referred to as the Rising Star System, and was almost completely inaccessible. This is to say that the entrance to the cavern was very narrow. Only the most slender individuals are able to access the cavern. A second cavern, equally inaccessible, was later found, also containing the remains of humans.
A scientific expedition to excavate the remains was organized by Lee Burger, a scientist who specializes in the field of paleo anthropology. For the sake of those who are not scientific experts, I should mention that paleo refers to people who lived many years ago, and anthropology refers to the study of human beings. Quite reasonably, the scientists who specialize in this field are referred to as paleo anthropologists.
Burger immediately organized a team of young, slender, dedicated scientists to engage in the extremely dangerous task of excavating those bones from the caverns. Not too surprising, all of these scientists were female, and the nearly complete skeletons of fifteen individuals were removed from these chambers. No one was seriously injured during this process.
As there was no indication of predatory damage to the bones, it was clear that predators did not drag the bones into the caverns. Also, the bones of no other animals were found in the caverns, so that ruled out the possibility of the bones being deposited as a result of flooding. The only remaining possibility is that these remains were placed in those caves deliberately. Those caverns are effectively a burial ground of an ancient species of human.
Of course there is no shortage of scientific souls who dispute that conclusion. They would have us believe that apes dragged the bodies of their deceased deep underground, in complete darkness, through caverns and tunnels which were supremely dangerous, in order to place them in remote caverns. Any misstep could have proven fatal and in the darkness, it was all too easy to get lost. This behaviour is not characteristic of apes.
It is my opinion that homo naledi was human, and I suspect they navigated their way through those underground passages with the aid of a light source, possibly torches. It is possible that the smoke from those torches can still be detected on the roof of those caves. There is no mention in the scientific literatures of anyone checking for that soot.
The bones have been extensively studied, and it has been determined that these apes were definitely bipedal, complete with features which were a ”curious mixture of ape and human”. This is to say that it walked on two legs but had also evolved physical features to enable it to spend a great deal of time in trees. This is precisely as I would expect, considering that it is a primitive species of human.
In a previous article, I have argued that in order to become human, an ape first has to become bipedal, so that the the front paws are freed up for labor. This is the correct Marxist understanding of the evolutionary process which an ape goes through, in the transition from ape to human.
Then in the process of labor, of crafting ever more elaborate tools, the front paws are gradually transformed into hands, which is to say the opposable thumb is created, they are able to touch their fingertips with their thumb, corresponding changes also take place to the body, and the ape gradually becomes human.
In particular, Engels explained this quite clearly in his excellent book, The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. The period of transition from ape to human is referred to as the lower stage of savagery, the ”childhood of the human race”. This period may have lasted thousands of years, and the main result of this is the development of articulate speech. During that time, people were ”partially at least a tree dweller, for otherwise their survival among huge beasts of prey cannot be explained.” That is the reason I am not surprised that they have a mixture of ape and human.
That is a fundamental tenet of Marxism, and as I have gone into this in more detail in a previous article, I will not go beyond this brief summary.
The point is that it is my contention that all species of human, which have ever walked the earth, have been, and are now, bipedal apes with opposable thumbs.
Burger reports a number of complete hands have been excavated from the caverns, and it is his belief that these hands ”could have made and manipulated tools”. That is very close to saying that these hands had the opposable thumb.
As that is the case, it proves that homo naledi was in fact human, so there is no point in arguing that an ape with such a small brain cannot be human. Homo naledi was human, but there are no doubt many scientists who will argue the point.
Of course the brains of our earliest human ancestors were small, as they were descended from apes. Engels goes on to quote Morgan, an anthropologist for whom Engels had the utmost respect: ”When two advancing tribes, with strong mental and physical characters, are brought together and blended into one people by the accidents of barbarous life, the new skull and brain would widen and lengthen to the sum of the capabilities of both.”
It is assumed that this species of human lived at the same time as our human ancestors, and then died out. I am not so sure. As yet I am aware of no DNA test to prove this, and the fact is that different species of human have interbred over the centuries. None of us can claim to be a pure bred species.
Most of those bones were recovered from one rather small area, less than one square meter, in one chamber. These human remains are being treated with great respect, properly so, as we are effectively raiding the burial ground of people who lived a very long time ago.
This is not to say that we are grave robbers, as such people merely steal from the dead in order to enrich themselves. That is far different from a proper scientific examination, and in a perfect world, after such an examination, the bones could be returned to their place of burial. That of course is out of the question, as the site has been well marked and grave robbers would no doubt merely steal the bones and sell them on the black market.
With that in mind, I can only suggest securing the Rising Star cave system, in order to prevent grave robbers from climbing into those burial grounds and stealing any remaining bones left in those chambers.
Burger is of the opinion that science should be made more accessible to non scientists. He is also of the opinion that, in all fields of science, extraordinary things are to be found. Possibly this latest discovery will inspire people to begin searching.
I most emphatically agree.
Gerald McIsaac Science Project 