STUDY GUIDE 2 FOR “ALMOST HUMAN”, (PAGES 105-226)

Chapt. 15

What did Berger ask Pedro Boshoff and, later, added Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker to do for him?

What did Steven and Rick find on September 13, 2013 (Berger didn’t see the actual photos until October 1)?

Chapt. 16

Once in the cave, why was “the slot” too difficult for Berger to enter?

What were some of the dangers contemplated by Berger that people would have to face in the fossil chamber?

What equipment did Berger realize he would need to record and remove the fossils from the chamber?

Chapt. 17

Why did the author feel that he had to begin the excavation within just a few weeks of their discovery? How many people did he calculate he would need for this operation?

How did Berger advertise for the people that he would need to do the actual excavations? What kind of response did he get to this ad?

How did Berger interview his top choices? What was the interview like?

How many people did he eventually hire to excavate? What were 2 things that they all had in common?

Chapt. 18

When the excavations began, what types of social media did the Berger and his team use?

What was the length of the video and audio cables when they were finished putting them in place? How many cameras were deployed?

Chapt. 19

What is a “Chute Troll”?

How much time did Berger estimate it would take to travel from the cave entrance to the fossil chamber?

Chapt. 20

What is the function of the Artec scanner? This answer is scattered in a few locations, beginning here. Be sure to get a complete description for this!

How many scientists worked in the fossil chamber initially?

Chapt. 21

On the first day of the work in the fossil chamber, an alarm went off. What was the alarm indicating?

What was the first fossil that was recovered?

Chapt. 22

Why did Berger conclude that the femur looked more like Australopithecus than Homo?

What did the length of the metacarpal indicate?

How did Berger find out that a second individual was represented in the fossil assemblage?

Where did Steven and Rick find yet another femur?

Chamber 23

What disruption happened on #SkullDay?

What was Marina’s response when Berger asked if the scientists were cherry-picking on hominin remains?

What did the recovery team begin to suspect that was so odd about the fossil assemblage?

Chapt. 24

What packaging was used to carry the skull out with?

How many bones were recovered at the end of the first week? The second week?

The brain of the hominin appeared to be very small. Berger stated that it was the size of what type of fruit?

What species of hominin did the skull appear to resemble? How did it differ from this species?

Chapt. 25

At the end of the three-week field season, how many bones had been recovered from Rising Star Cave?

What was the minimum number of individuals represented by these remains?

Berger found 30 young scientists to help analyze the fossil finds. How did he post this advertisement?

In March 2014, Becca and Marina recovered 300 more fossil remains. What parts of the skeleton were represented, as noted by Berger?

Chapt. 26

What important piece of data was missing when the analysis of the Homo naledi began?

Why did Berger decide that this might actually be an advantage to the analysis?

Why did some scientists contend that Australopithecus sediba couldn’t be ancestral to modern humans?

Chapt. 27

What was stored along the walls of the Phillip Tobias Primate and Hominid Fossil Laboratory?

What was surprising about the Homo naledi foot bones?

What type of hominin do its wrist and hand bones resemble? What was the anatomical exception to this similarity?

In contrast to modern humans, what do the shoulders of Homo naledi seem to have been adapted for? How is this known?

How was the larger skull initially reconstructed? What was the estimated brain size? What was the estimated brain size of the smaller, possibly female, skull?

What is the estimated height and weight of Homo naledi?

What is the least number of Homo naledi individuals known so far?

What are their age ranges?

What three key features was it concluded that Homo naledi shared in common with the genus Homo?

Chapt. 28

What does “naledi” mean in Sesotho?

What is taphonomy? What are 2 of the important conclusions that came from the taphonomic analyses?

How does Berger think that the Homo naledi remains got into the Dinaledi Chamber?

Chapt. 29

What journal was chosen to publish the resulting scientific papers about Homo naledi?

How were the fossil casts made available?

Chapt. 30

What was found in Chamber 102?

What part of the Homo naledi was used to determine how old they were? What was the time range that was mentioned by Berger?

What kind of tools have been found in association with Homo naledi?

Epilogue

What did Lee Berger show John Hawks in the new (for him) cave?