popular science

70 POPULAR SCIENCE

of bone. We expected to find a single individual,

probably a species we already knew. But there

were 18 hominins, each around 300,000 years

old. We later learned those remains came from

a previously unknown human cousin, Homo

naledi. We believe this species deliberately dis-

posed of their dead there. I expected to spend a

month in South Africa, but five years later, I’m

still working on the site. The descent never gets

easy—I’ve probably worn through 15 overalls

In 2013, I was finishing my doctor-

ate in biological anthropology when

my supervisor sent me an intriguing

Facebook post. Paleo anthropologist

Lee Berger was seeking a team to excavate hom-

inin remains in South Africa’s Rising Star Cave,

a network of chambers that covers more than

9 acres. He wanted people who were not only

trained anthropologists, but also climbers who

could squeeze through a 17-cm-wide space. I wrig-

down a 12-m chute into what we call the Dinaledi

Chamber. That chute isn’t just a crack in the rock—

it’s studded with points like shark teeth. I couldn’t

turn my head to see where I was going, and many

points were so tight that by inhaling, I could hold

myself in place without my hands. When I dropped

down and entered the chamber for the first time,

it was awesome in the true sense of the word.

Everywhere my headlamp shone, I saw fragments

gled underneath my bed to make sure I could do

it. Within a month, I was heading to South Africa

with five other researchers. To reach the fossils,

you belly-crawl through a 30-cm-high passage,

climb 15 metres up a rocky formation, and slip

AT THE EXTREME

MARINA ELLIOTT,BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGIST AT UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND IN SOUTH AFRICA

Reaching the Past Through a 7-Inch Chute

scraping through that jagged chute—but negoti-

ating tight spaces is more about knowing how to

move than anything else. You need to be strong,

smart, and determined (and a little bit crazy),

but not necessarily tiny.

illustration by Britt Spencer

Rethink

FROM THE

FIELD

TALES

AS TOLD TO RACHEL FELTMAN