![Cross-section of the Rising Star Cave system Dinaledi Chamber](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Cross-section_of_the_Rising_Star_Cave_system_Dinaledi_Chamber.svg)
The Underground Astronauts is the name given to a group of six scientists,
Hannah Morris
Hannah Morris is an American anthropologist, known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six women Underground Astronauts. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the ...
,
Marina Elliott
Marina Elliott is a Canadian biological anthropologist, who is known for being one of the six Underground Astronauts of the Rising Star Expedition.
Eliott has a Master's degree and PhD in biological anthropology from Simon Fraser University in B ...
,
Becca Peixotto
Rebecca (Becca) Peixotto is an American archaeologist who is best known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six Underground Astronauts, a group of scientists tasked with excavating the Rising Star Cave System. She ha ...
,
Alia Gurtov
Alia Gurtov is an American paleoanthropologist who is known for being one of the six Underground Astronauts of the Rising Star Expedition.
Education
Gurtov attended Wellesley College, majoring in French and anthropology. In 2006, she was g ...
, K. Lindsay (then Eaves) Hunter,
and
Elen Feuerriegel
Elen Feuerriegel is an Australian palaeoanthropologist, known for being one of the "underground astronauts" of the Rising Star Expedition. She is a researcher at the University of Washington.
Feuerriegel studied anthropology at the University ...
, who excavated the bones of ''
Homo naledi'' from the
Dinaledi Chamber of the
Rising Star cave system in Gauteng, South Africa.
The six women were selected by the expedition leader,
Lee Rogers Berger,
who posted a message on
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
asking for scientists with experience in paleontological excavations and caving, and were slender enough for cramped spaces.
Within ten days of the post, Berger had received sixty applicants and chose six scientists to make up his expedition team.
The Rising Star Expedition
In November 2013, the
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society (NGS), headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational organizations in the world.
Founded in 1888, its interests include geography, archaeology, and ...
and the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...
funded an expedition called the
Rising Star Expedition
The Rising Star cave system (also known as Westminster or Empire cave) is located in the
Malmani dolomites, in Bloubank River valley, about southwest of Swartkrans, part of the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site in South Africa. Recreat ...
for a twenty-one day excavation at the Rising Star cave system in Gauteng,
followed by a second expedition in March 2014 for a 4-week excavation in the
Dinaledi Chamber. The first expedition retrieved 1,550 pieces of bone belonging to at least fifteen individuals, found within 1 m
2 of
clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
-rich sediments.
Out of the
fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...
assemblage found, only twenty bones in the human anatomy were not found in the assortment.
The six scientists had to pass through three points of difficult terrain in the cave to reach the bone chamber. The first is referred to as "Superman's Crawl," which required one arm held forward to pass, similar to
Superman
Superman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, and debuted in the comic book ''Action Comics'' #1 (cover-dated June 1938 and publi ...
's flight. They then had to climb vertically up a rock surface, known as the "Dragon's back," and finally pass through a slender opening
and descend 30 meters into the Dinaledi chamber.
Because of the difficulty of the expedition and their exploration of the Dinaledi Chamber, the six women were given the name "the Underground Astronauts."
Controversy
Berger's methods in selecting his research team were criticized by some contemporaries. Because of how he called for applicants via social media to investigate new
hominin
The Hominini form a taxonomic tribe of the subfamily Homininae ("hominines"). Hominini includes the extant genera ''Homo'' (humans) and '' Pan'' (chimpanzees and bonobos) and in standard usage excludes the genus ''Gorilla'' (gorillas).
The t ...
remains, some experts questioned the legitimacy and professionalism of the expedition.
He used a similar process when it came time to analyze the recovered remains, once again sending out a call online for those interested in analyzing the remains, specifically looking for early career applicants.
Berger was given the nickname "Mr. Paleodemocracy" because of his methods.
Some experts began to view the expedition as a media stunt, as the excavation process was documented via daily blog posts, and Berger spoke on radio shows.
The data collected was published in open-access journals and scanned in-order to allow the greatest amount of scientists to access and contribute to the study of the fossil data, quite different from the slow and limited access methods used by most
paleoanthropologists
Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as hominization, through the reconstruction of evolutionary kinship ...
.
Excavator team
*
Hannah Morris
Hannah Morris is an American anthropologist, known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six women Underground Astronauts. She is currently a Ph.D. student in the Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources at the ...
, archaeologist.
*
Alia Gurtov
Alia Gurtov is an American paleoanthropologist who is known for being one of the six Underground Astronauts of the Rising Star Expedition.
Education
Gurtov attended Wellesley College, majoring in French and anthropology. In 2006, she was g ...
is a
University of Wisconsin
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
– Madison Ph.D. candidate researching the effects of seasonality on hominin foraging at Olduvai Gorge,
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
.
*
Marina Elliott
Marina Elliott is a Canadian biological anthropologist, who is known for being one of the six Underground Astronauts of the Rising Star Expedition.
Eliott has a Master's degree and PhD in biological anthropology from Simon Fraser University in B ...
is originally from
Calgary, Canada
Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...
, and has a master's degree in biological anthropology from
Simon Fraser University,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
*
Elen Feuerriegel
Elen Feuerriegel is an Australian palaeoanthropologist, known for being one of the "underground astronauts" of the Rising Star Expedition. She is a researcher at the University of Washington.
Feuerriegel studied anthropology at the University ...
, then a PhD candidate at the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, studying shoulder biomechanics with Colin Groves in
Oldowan stone tool manufacture.
*
Becca Peixotto
Rebecca (Becca) Peixotto is an American archaeologist who is best known for her contribution to the Rising Star Expedition as one of the six Underground Astronauts, a group of scientists tasked with excavating the Rising Star Cave System. She ha ...
is an archaeologist and Ph.D. student in the Department of Anthropology at
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
* K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter is a
biological anthropologist
Biological anthropology, also known as physical anthropology, is a scientific discipline concerned with the biological and behavioral aspects of human beings, their extinct hominin ancestors, and related non-human primates, particularly from an e ...
and current archaeology PhD student at the
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African Public university, public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( o ...
PhD, as well as the Project Manager/Facilitator for the
National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
"Umsuka" Public
Palaeoanthropology
Paleoanthropology or paleo-anthropology is a branch of paleontology and biological anthropology, anthropology which seeks to understand the early development of anatomically modern humans, a process known as wikt:hominization, hominization, throug ...
Project based in
Johannesburg
Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...
,
Gauteng Province,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
. The Nat Geo "Umsuka" project has a focus on promoting education, inclusivity, and accessibility regarding the
Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind is a paleoanthropological site and is located about northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Gauteng province. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, the site is home to the largest concentration of ...
. Following the 2013 expedition, Lindsay married Rick Hunter, one of the co-discoverers of ''
Homo naledi''.
See also
*
Rising Star Cave
* ''
Homo naledi''
*
''Dawn of Humanity'' (2015 PBS film)
References
External links
The Women Behind the Discovery of Humankind's Newest (Maybe) Relative
Trowel Blazers - Rising Star The role of women and youth in discovering Homo Naledi
{{Cradle of Humankind
Women archaeologists
Paleontology in South Africa
Archaeological sites in South Africa
National Geographic Society
University of the Witwatersrand
Archaeological history of Southern Africa
2013 in South Africa
2014 in South Africa