Tooth proteins hint Homo naledi burial site held only females

Researchers from the University of York, the University of Copenhagen and other institutions extracted ancient proteins from the enamel of 23 Homo naledi teeth representing at least 20 individuals and found no trace of the male marker Amelogenin-Y. The Dinaledi Chamber may therefore have been a burial site reserved for females — a first for a species other than Homo sapiens. The team notes the gene could also have mutated or been lost in an isolated population.

• 23 teeth from at least 20 Homo naledi individuals were analyzed
• No Amelogenin-Y male protein was detected in the samples
• The species lived 335,000–241,000 years ago and was found in 2013
• The study was published in the journal Cell