Homo naledi: Hominin #10 - 1/88 Limited Edition

Format: 2160 x 2160 px - MP4 Looping video - 150 dpi

This Hominin bust by the Smithsonian paleoartist John Gurche is built slowly with clay over a cast or 3D print of an ancient skull, from which a silicone mold is taken and the face painted into the mold. Acrylic eyes, and bear or human hair implanted manually and individually.

Materials: clay, casting, 3D printing, silicone, acrylic, paint, bear hair, human hair.

Medium: digital photography, post-production coloring, animation.

In the autumn of 2013, an exploration of a remote passage in a South African cave led to the extraordinary discovery of over 1,500 fossil hominin bones representing at least 15 individuals. These remains are remarkable in showing a mix of primitive Australopithecus-like features and more evolved Homo-like features. The skull is Homo-like, but with a small, australopith-sized brain. The bones of the trunk and shoulders are australopith-like, but the legs are elongated as in Homo and the hands and feet are nearly modern. Curved finger bones imply that tree-climbing was still important.

This new species was named Homo naledi, the most primitive member of the genus. Despite having primitive characteristics expected in fossils over 2 million years old, H. naledi lived only between 236,000 and 335,000 years ago. Although it occurs too late in time to document the actual Australopithecus to Homo transition, this find implies that the transition happened mosaic style, with different Homo features evolving at different times.

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