Human evolution sometimes isn’t clear-cut. New discoveries emerge every year, but there’s still a lot we don’t know. We see burying the dead as a defining trait of Homo sapiens. But newer discoveries suggest that we may not hold a monopoly on this practice. There’s evidence that other hominin groups cared for their members in death as they did in life.

Our Distant Ancestors and Kin

Contrary to common belief, Neanderthals are not our ancestors. Smithsonian Magazine explains that they’re actually our cousins. There’s another group called Denisovans, named after the Siberian cave where researchers found their fossils. It’s unclear whether Denisovans are a separate hominin species or possibly a subset of Homo sapiens. Some studies of ancient hominin DNA suggest that some Denisovans, Neanderthals, and modern humans may have interbred.

Modern humans, Neanderthals, and Denisovans may share a common ancestor. One possible candidate is Homo heidelbergensis, who probably lived between 200,000 and 700,000 years ago. This species likely descended from Homo erectus, a hominin ancestor that first appeared about 1.8 million years ago. We’re still piecing together how Homo erectus is connected to other groups like Homo habilis and Australopithecus.  

Neanderthal Burial Practices

Neanderthals were more sophisticated than the common caveman stereotype portrays. The Smithsonian’s Human Origins wiki reveals that they were proficient tool makers and users. They also were skilled at using fire and building shelters. Besides clothing, they also crafted and wore ornamental objects. And new evidence suggests that they buried their dead.

CNN producer Katie Hunt mentions how analysis of a Neanderthal child’s skeleton points to intentional burial. Researchers recently used modern techniques to examine the skeleton, first discovered in France during the 1970s. The bones didn’t display any weathering or marks from animal claws and teeth. They were also well preserved, with the head higher than the body and pointing eastward. These signs show that the child’s body could have been deliberately interred.

More Neanderthal sites offer additional evidence for burial rites. Researchers have found pollen clumps with skeletons, possibly from flowers buried with or scattered on top of the bodies. Neanderthal bones found at other sites exhibit a similar lack of weathering and damage.  

Homo Naledi Cave Burials

Neanderthals are contemporaries of some early modern humans. It’s not too surprising that they buried their dead. But they may not have been the only ones. Homo naledi, who lived between 200,000 to 300,000 years ago, may have done the same thing.

Researchers came across 15 sets of Homo naledi remains in Rising Star Cave, located about 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. Analyzing the skeletons yielded several discoveries. This group of people lived around the same time as Neanderthals and early modern humans, but they don’t look like either species. In a reconstruction shown by NBC News, the figure staring back at us is a bit more ape-like. Homo naledi’s brain is also only one-third the size of ours. But this species had tool-using hands, sharing wrist and thumb structures with both humans and Neanderthals.

Homo naledi skeletons have been found in two caves at the South African site. The skeletons were well preserved and discovered in dark, remote places. The first set of skeletons were in a deep chamber with a nearly sealed-off opening. If they were deliberately left there, it’s possible evidence of funerary caching – placing human remains inside a natural feature.

What It Means To Be Human

We’ve wrestled with how to define our humanity for thousands of years. Yet we find that other beings display similar traits – self-awareness and burying the dead, for example. So what does it mean to be human? And will this question even matter in our distant future? Human or not, compassion and empathy are key to our experience. Holding onto these will be critical as our entire planet faces new and difficult challenges.