Naledi: An example of how natural phenomena can inspire metaphysical assumptions

Abstract

A new fossil site was discovered in the Rising Star Cave in 2013 in the Cradle of Humankind in South Africa. This site which has yielded 1550 hominin bones so far is considered to be one of the richest palaeoanthropological sites in the world. The deposition of the fossils in a remote part of the cave system, approximately 100 m from the entrance, has resulted in a great deal of speculation. The relative inaccessibility of the site and the number of fossil bones it contained and the fact that virtually all these bones were those of a single species of hominid led to the conclusion that the bones were not deposited because of natural sedimentary processes, but that these phenomena were evidence of purposeful disposal or even burial of the dead by hominins. If this assumption is true, it would be the earliest evidence of a metaphysical awareness in humankind. The tenuous evidence on which this hypothesis rests will be discussed and a more plausible alternative explanation where water and gravity were responsible for the deposition of the remains is forwarded.

Archaeological evidence for thinking about possibilities in hominin evolution

“…While such cases may indicate inherited status, they may also represent care for the child into an afterlife. The oldest examples of burials widely accepted date to about 130 000 to 100 000 years ago at Mt Carmel (Israel) and include both H. sapiens and Neanderthals [112,113], though there has been some suggestions that H. heidelbergensis may have deliberately dropped deceased individuals into the Sima de los Huesos cave system in Spain [114] with similar suggestions for Homo naledi at Rising Star Cave in South Africa ([115], but see [116]). Burials of the very young are known in both H. sapiens (Krems–Wachtberg [117]) and Neanderthal contexts (Amud, La Ferrassie [111,118]).…”

Balancing the transcendence and immanence of God in Nürnberger’s theology

“…It comes as no surprise that claims are made, proposing that the old knowledge of religion (and metaphysics) should be exchanged for the new knowledge unearthed by empirical science (see Dawkins 2006:309-340;Durand 2017). 2 If asked where God is located in the natural sciences, Dawkins and company relegate God to the human imagination -'to denote a supernatural creator 1.Klaus Nürnberger is a Christian theologian.…”