(289) Homo naledi: Inbreeding caused no mole behavior

Basic Dimension

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LEE BERGER: WAS HOMO NALEDI OUR 
AUSTRALOPITHECINE ANCESTOR?

Inbreeding was a candidate for the remarkable behavior of Homo naledi in the Rising Star Cave. Inbreeding is so clearly a reason for the burials in Dinaledi chamber, that it's falsification must be written down as not to be forgotten.

What scenario fits Homo naledi?

I have done a lot of thinking about the reason for the Homo naledi burials in the Rising Star Cave. But my best scenario is proven wrong, as follows:

Inbreeding scenario:

Homo naledi was an inbreeding culture, which suffered from a declining birth rate, as a result of which they begged the God of Darkness for a greater number of births.

But:

- 1: Although Homo naledi was an inbreeding culture, the population survived for already two million years as a genetically balanced species. So, eventual autosomal recessive disorders would have wiped out the population much earlier.

- 2: Inbred populations often experience fertility stress from higher child mortality. But infants were not disproportionately overrepresented in Dinaledi chamber.

- 3: Disabled infants and adults could not have been buried. But then we would expect some visible shortcomings in the other bones as well that were buried. And furthermore there might be fewer infants in the chamber.

So, this scenario looks not viable. This means the Dinaledi burials must have had another reason. There may have been fertility stress for entirely different reasons, such as famine. 

If there was no external threat causing Homo naledi's mole behavior, we can live with the religious hypothesis alone: creating an optimal rebirth situation as close as possible to the God of Darkness as deep as possible in the ground.

Our reasoning: Something catastrophically happened

One way or another is the behavior from Homo naledi explained by a declining birth rate, for which they were looking for a solution that was not effective.

We imply the following:

- Normally Homo naledi buried their death in the ground expecting they would be reborn into the wombs of Homo naledi females.

- But then something went wrong and their birth rate declined. They may have suffered from autosomal recessive disorders, though they existed already for two million years and their dead in Dinaledi chamber were a cross-section of the population. So, it could be something else, a contagious disease for example, or a shortage of food or something else.

- Anyway, their remedy was to accelerate the number of births to prevent extinction of the tribe, or the species.

- Then, as in a scientific experiment, they tried something completely new as an emergency measure to beg the God of Darkness for help. We need the word 'scientific' to ensure the military operation of perfect precision they needed to reach their goal. They measured the underground tunnels with grass ropes from standard length and set up a lot of other rules to prevent catastrophes.

- So, the burial as deep and dark as in Dinaledi chamber was an advanced and well organized project. Homo naledi must have faced major problems in bringing this to a successful conclusion. They combined all knowledge and experience organizing this process in an almost scientific manner, like we went to the Moon. And that's why they were a very clever and very intelligent species. Furthermore, they must have been very social, very empathically and good in organizing big events, just like us.

INBREEDING CULTURE

There is no proof yet that Homo naledi was an inbred population, only there is circumstantial evidence. We have to wait for DNA analysis and Paleo Proteomics (see below).

How to decide to an inbreeding culture:

- We can objectively state whoever is deliberately in a grave together with others also formed a close group during life: So, Homo naledi probably was a close group. 

- It seems that members buried in Dinaledi chamber came from an entire community. They probably were not limited to a single family. Then we speak from a closed society.

- Individuals who are not massively buried together, but separated as families, we call a more open society.

- The difference between open and closed groups is from fundamental importance for human cultures:

- Further we can objectively state that because these individuals looked all the same, they apparently formed a genetically balanced species, just like a balanced dog race.

- This means they must have formed a closed group over already a very long period, definitely over many generations. This looks like an inbred population, while an open group looks more like an outcrossed group.

- During this period of maybe thousands of years it is unlikely that they have been systematically bred with other species. Earlier there was perhaps hybridization between this Australopithecus and more advanced species, but not recently.

- But the hypothesis of early introgressive hybridization (introgression) gives us a formidable problem, because Homo naledi shows features to hands, wrists, legs and feet, which are more advanced than Homo erectus. So, though they were contemporaries from Homo erectus for two million years, they were more advanced at some points. This means they did not have interbred with Homo erectus on a large scale systematically. (This is a wrong conclusion).

- Further, interbreeding with Homo sapiens (350 Ka) could be processed into this balanced species for over a period of about 100,000 years. But systematic hybridization with Homo sapiens is very unlikely, because Homo sapiens has been found in North Africa and Homo naledi in South Africa, both with very small numbers, as usual.

- So, we must reject mass hybridization with Homo erectus (wrong) and Homo sapiens. 

- Then we are left with convergent evolution from hands and feet from Homo naledi, alike modern Homo sapiens.

- So, until results from Paleo Proteomics we don't need to postulate any interbreeding at all.

- Then we are inclined to conclude Homo naledi to a pure inbred population starting from around or before Homo habilis.

- If this is correct, it will have great consequences. Homo naledi could be the principal archaic line of hominids/hominin development. Then their modern features are from convergent evolution with later species that descend from them.

- But it's illogical there wouldn't have been any incidental interbreeding with Homo naledi in the evolution. But this can not be seen from the bones, only from DNA and Paleo Proteomics.

                                                                                                                                                  

Palaeoproteomics:

We must wait on Paleo Proteomics to unravel the origins of Homo naledi:

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-01986-x

Deep in the hominin’s teeth, proteins lingered, degraded but still identifiable. When scientists analysed them earlier this year, they detected collagen, a structural support protein found in bone and other tissues. And in its chemical signature was a single amino-acid variant that isn’t present in the collagen of modern humans or Neanderthals — instead, it flagged the jawbone as belonging to a member of the mysterious hominin group called Denisovans. It was the first time that an ancient hominin had been identified using only proteins.

                                                                                                                                

- So, we postulate introgressive hybridization for Homo naledi only on a low DNA level.

- It is not proof but we are inclined to see Homo naledi as an inbred population with a sufficiently diverse genome to avoid autosomal recessive disorders.

It must be remarked convergent evolution would also give Homo erectus these Homo sapiens characteristics on feet, hands, legs and wrists. Maybe as Lee Berger suggests, Homo naledi is the principal and ancient ancestor of Homo sapiens, a shocking insight. So, maybe Homo naledi was the core Australopithecus from which we all descend, but that's pure speculation.

What supports the inbreeding theory of Homo naledi:

-  The close group from Dinaledi chamber looks more like a closed group than a dispersed bunch of outbred people looking all differently.

- We know there were never more than 24,000 breeding pairs of bipedal primates in evolution and secondly, Africa is an immense large continent. With so few people on that large continent it is certainly possible for Homo naledi to avoid other species. So, we can fairly assume that Homo naledi formed a closed group. 

- But above statement is not in accordance with the facts, because it seems Homo naledi did put a great effort not letting others approach their dead. And without intruders from other Homo naledi tribes or other species they did not need to hide their dead like that.  And so much effort keeping out their own kind does not sound reasonable. So, they probably feared Homo erectus.

- But what we call 'hiding' may also be meant to come as near as possible to the God of Darkness, without fear for intruders. So there possibly were no intruders.

- Anyway, until now we are inclined to conclude to the following: Homo naledi formed a close and probably closed inbreeding group, which stayed together after death and who all looked the same. They apparently hidden their dead from hostile other groups in the surroundings, possibly meaning the group was in permanent danger. But the latter is not yet clear.

Conclusion:

We think Homo naledi was definitely an inbred population. They may have had some (wrong) introgressive hybridization on a low DNA level, which however did not cause their modern hands, wrists, legs and feet. Their wrists and feet were more advanced than Homo erectus and Homo naledi lived too far in North Africa. So, no systematic introgressive hybridization with Homo erectus and Homo sapiens is to be expected. 

Assumption 398: Homo naledi theoretically can have been an extremely inbred population without much contact with modern hominins. But still, they can have developed human characteristics by convergent evolution.

It must be remarked convergent evolution would also have given Homo erectus these Homo sapiens characteristics. So convergent evolution is not the solution. Maybe as Lee Berger suggests, Homo naledi is the principal and ancient ancestor of Homo sapiens, a shocking insight. So, maybe Homo naledi was the core Australopithecus from which we all descend, but that's pure speculation:

LEE BERGER: WAS HOMO NALEDI OUR 
AUSTRALOPITHECINE ANCESTOR?

This allows us to establish a nearly direct connection between Homo naledi and Homo sapiens, which means that the modern features of Homo naledi can be transferred to Homo sapiens via Homo erectus. BTW, Homo naledi and Homo erectus lived together for two million years:

Assumption 470: Homo naledi was the core Australopithecus from which we all descend. Homo naledi is the principal and ancient ancestor of Homo sapiens. Homo naledi interbred with Homo erectus and delivered the advanced extremities as modern legs, hands, wrists and feet:

Homo erectus brought in his retarded cauliflower brain which caused him to seriously derailed into magical religion, in which he sexually terrorized the females. So, there must have been two breeding lines of Homo erectus, with and without advanced features from Homo naledi.

We have written a lot on this blog about the possible interbreeding between Homo naledi and Homo erectus:





But we missed a good theoretical entrance. But in this latest interview Prof. Dr. Lee Berger said that possibly Homo naledi could be our ancient ancestor. Thinking about that means Homo erectus delivered the body to Homo sapiens with the enlarged skull, but Homo naledi brought in the hands, wrists, feet and legs. So the most modern features came from Homo naledi and the psychotic brain from Homo erectus:

But then we have to redraw our diagram:

Although inbreeding is not seen any longer as a cause of the burials in Dinaledi chamber, inbreeding can have something to do with contagiousness for illnesses from other species, against which they had no physical resistance, although they lived together already for two million years. In the end we can live with the hypothesis that only their belief in rebirth was the cause for burying their dead in Dinaledi chamber, possibly enhanced by fertility stress.