The fossilised bones of 15 members of a previously unknown branch of the human family tree have been discovered in a cave in South Africa, scientists said on September 10, 2015, hailing the find as a breakthrough in evolution research. About 1,500 fossils were found deep in a cave system outside Johannesburg, hidden in a chamber only accessible via several steep climbs and narrow rock crevasses. The hominid — described as a "new species" of human — has been named Homo naledi after the "Rising Star" cave where the bones were found. Naledi means "star" in Sesotho, a local South African language.
