3D Modeling Culture Markets

Documenting the Rising Star Caves

homoThis has to be one of the more challenging scanning projects and one that may have produced one of the most important discoveries.

Homo naledi was discovered in the Rising Star caves in the Cradle of Humankind, in a virtually inaccessible underground chamber.

A team of scientists and researchers, led by Wits University professor Lee Berger, believe they’ve unearthed a new species of human relative in the world’s richest hominin fossil site, the Cradle of Humankind.

The new species, Homo naledi is named after the chamber in which it was discovered, deep in the Rising Star caves. The remote underground room has been dubbed the Dinaledi Chamber (“Chamber of Stars” in SeSotho) and has given up a treasure trove of fossilised hominin remains.

The Rising Star Expedition has already removed parts of 15 individuals from the chamber, but researchers believe they’re only just scratching the surface and that there may be hundreds or even thousands more fossilized remains waiting to be unearthed.

Thanks to Meg Waters for the reference. You get a real sense of what it is like to be in there. I have been in some tight caves when I was younger. It was an adventure.

2 Comments

  • Anyone know exactly what kind of 3D laser scan system they used? How they hooked it up to a drone at the end and what they used? What kinds of reference spheres they used, spacing? Not taking anything away from the video, (super cool) but I would have liked to have seen a bit more of a technical presentation of how this was all accomplished.

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