--- title: "Pre-Human Species Carved Symbols More Than 200,000 Years Ago" description: "It appears that one of our ancestral species had burial rituals that included the carving of symbols hundreds of thousands of years ago." date: "2023-06-06" modified: "2023-06-06" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/pre-human-species-carved-symbols" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "anthropology" - "archaeology" - "homo sapiens" - "the digest" --- # Pre-Human Species Carved Symbols More Than 200,000 Years Ago ![It appears that one of our ancestral species had burial rituals that included the carving of symbols hundreds of thousands of years ago.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Hominin Hymns We have an [enduring cultural fascination]() with the early human ancestors who once lived on — and [even shared]() — our planet. Now, it appears that one of our ancestral species had burial rituals that included the carving of symbols hundreds of thousands of years ago, according to a series of new studies that suggest they could have had deeper similarities with us than previously known. The [trio]() of [three]() new [studies](), currently accepted for publication in the journal *eLife*, were conducted by an international team of archaeologists, constituting one of the most comprehensive looks into the social lives of the archaic hominin species *[Homo naledi](),* who were discovered just under a decade ago in South Africa's Rising Star caves. While there has been more traditional archaeological research into the short, smaller-brained *Homo naledi*, who date back to the Middle Pleistocene era roughly two or three hundred thousand years ago, these new papers zoom in on their ritualistic behaviors, most of which are more often associated with our larger-brained *Homo sapiens* species. As the [study about the symbol engravings notes](), the cross-hatches and other geometric shapes seem to indicate "meaning-making" along the lines of [prehistoric *H. sapiens* cave drawings](). Until now, those endeavors were thought to be associated with our species' advanced brainpower — *H. naledi's* brains were probably about the size of chimps', for comparison — but now it sounds like we may have more in common with our ancient ancestors than we ever thought. https://twitter.com/johnhawks/status/1665791223510990850 ## Ancestral Thinking Dr. Lee Berger, a paleoarcheologist and National Geographic explorer in residence who was part of the team that first discovered the proto-human species, says these new findings could be revolutionary in terms of how we think about our ancestors. "These recent findings suggest intentional burials, the use of symbols, and meaning-making activities by *Homo naledi*. It seems an inevitable conclusion that in combination they indicate that this small-brained species of ancient human relatives was performing complex practices related to death," Berger, who was also the lead author of two of the new studies and a coauthor on the third, [said in a National Geographic Society statement](). "That would mean not only are humans not unique in the development of symbolic practices, but may not have even invented such behaviors." "What we’ve uncovered forces us to rethink a whole set of assumptions about hominins and human evolution," Agustin Fuentes, a Princeton anthropology professor and the recent excavation's on-site bioculutral specialist, said in the statement. "Much of what we assumed was distinctively human, and distinctively caused by having a large brain, may not be either of those things." While this is far from the first study to cause us to rethink our place in natural history, it's nevertheless huge to imagine that proto-humans could have engaged in early versions of the same worldview-building and death-reflection practices as we do today. **More on archaeology:** [*Scientists Discover That Ancient Humans Were Tripping Balls in a Cave*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()