On 2024-08-12 09:57:17, user John Hawks wrote:
The authors have prepared a summary of revisions to this manuscript, which is available in the Supplementary Information section of the preprint. I have included the text of that summary across the following two comments in two parts (the whole is larger than the maximum comment length).
Summary of revisions to Evidence for deliberate burial of the dead by Homo naledi
We extend our sincere thanks to the editor, referees for eLife, and other commentators who have written evaluations of this manuscript, either in whole or in part. Sources of these comments were highly varied, including within the bioRxiv preprint server, social media (including many comments received on X/Twitter and some YouTube presentations and interviews), comments made by colleagues to journalists, and also some reviews of the work published in other academic journals. Some of these are formal and referenced with citations. Others were informal but nonetheless expressed perspectives that helped enable us to revise the manuscript with the inclusion of broader perspectives than the formal review process. It is beyond the scope of this summary to list every one of these, which have often been brought to the attention of different coauthors, but we begin by acknowledging the very wide array of peer and public commentary that have contributed to this work. The reaction speaks to a broad interest in open discussion and review of preprints.
As we compiled this summary of changes to the manuscript, we recognized that many colleagues made comments about the process of preprint dissemination and evaluation rather than the data or analyses in the manuscript. Addressing such comments is outside the scope of this revised manuscript, but we do feel that a broader discussion of these comments would be valuable in another venue. Many commentators have expressed confusion about the eLife system of evaluation of preprints, which differs from the editorial acceptance or rejection practiced in most academic journals. As authors in many different nations, in varied fields, and in varied career stages, we ourselves are still working to understand how the academic publication landscape is changing, and how best to prepare work for new models of evaluation and dissemination.
The manuscript and coauthor list reflect an interdisciplinary collaboration. Analyses presented in the manuscript come from a wide range of scientific disciplines. These range from skeletal inventory, morphology, and description, spatial taphonomy, analysis of bone fracture patterns and bone surface modifications, sedimentology, geochemistry, and traditional survey and mapping. The manuscript additionally draws upon a large number of previous studies of the Rising Star cave system and the Dinaledi Subsystem, which have shaped our current work. No analysis within any one area of research stands alone within this body of work: all are interpreted in conjunction with the outcomes of other analyses and data from other areas of research. Any single analysis in isolation might be consistent with many different hypotheses for the formation of sediments and disposition of the skeletal remains. But testing a hypothesis requires considering all data in combination and not leaving out data that do not fit the hypothesis. We highlight this general principle at the outset because a number of the comments from referees and outside specialists have presented alternative hypotheses that may arguably be consistent with one kind of analysis that we have presented, while seeming to overlook other analyses, data, or previous work that exclude these alternatives. In our revision, we have expanded all sections describing results to consider not only the results of each analysis, but how the combination of data from different kinds of analysis relate to hypotheses for the deposition and subsequent history of the Homo naledi remains. We address some specific examples and how we have responded to these in our summary of changes below.
General organization
The referee and editor comments are mostly general and not line-by-line questions, and we have compiled them and treated them as a group in this summary of changes, except where specifically noted.
The editorial comments on the previous version included the suggestion that the manuscript should be reorganized to test “natural” (i.e. noncultural) hypotheses for the situations that we examine. The editorial comment suggested this as a “null hypothesis” testing approach. Some outside comments also viewed noncultural deposition as a null hypothesis to be rejected. We do not concur that noncultural processes should be construed as a null hypothesis, as we discuss further below. However, because of the clear editorial opinion we elected to revise the manuscript to make more explicit how the data and analyses test noncultural depositional hypotheses first, followed by testing of cultural hypotheses. This reorganization means that the revised manuscript now examines each hypothesis separately in turn.
Taking this approach resulted in a substantial reorganization of the “Results” section of the manuscript. The “Results” section now begins with summaries of analyses and data conducted on material from each excavation area. After the presentation of data and analyses from each area, we then present a separate section for each of several hypotheses for the disposition and sedimentary context of the remains. These hypotheses include deposition of bodies upon a talus (as hypothesized in some previous work), slow sedimentary burial on a cave floor or within a natural depression, rapid burial by gravity-driven slumping, and burial of naturally mummified remains. We then include sections to test the hypothesis of primary cultural burial and secondary cultural burial. This approach adds substantial length to the Results. While some elements may be repeated across sections, we do consider the new version to be easier to take piece by piece for a reader trying to understand how each hypothesis relates to the evidence.
The Results section includes analyses on several different excavation areas within the Dinaledi Subsystem. Each of these presents somewhat different patterns of data. We conceived of this manuscript combining these distinct areas because each of them provides information about the formation history of the Homo naledi-associated sediments and the deposition of the Homo naledi remains. Together they speak more strongly than separately. In the previous version of the manuscript, two areas of excavation were considered in detail (Dinaledi Feature 1 and the Hill Antechamber Feature), with a third area (the Puzzle Box area) included only in the Discussion and with reference to prior work. We now describe the new work undertaken after the 2013-2014 excavations in more detail. This includes an overview of areas in the Hill Antechamber and Dinaledi Chamber that have not yielded substantial H. naledi remains and that thereby help contextualize the spatial concentration of H. naledi skeletal material. The most substantial change in the data presented is a much expanded reanalysis of the Puzzle Box area. This reanalysis provides greater clarity on how previously published descriptions relate to the new evidence. The reanalysis also provides the data to integrate the detailed information on bone identification fragmentation, and spatial taphonomy from this area with the new excavation results from the other areas.
In addition to Results, the reorganization also affected the manuscript’s Introduction section. Where the previous version led directly from a brief review of Pleistocene burial into the description of the results, this revised manuscript now includes a review of previous studies of the Rising Star cave system. This review directly addresses referee comments that express some hesitation to accept previous results concerning the structure and formation of sediments, the accessibility of the Dinaledi Subsystem, the geochronological setting of the H. naledi remains, and the relation of the Dinaledi Subsystem to nearby cave areas. Some parts of this overview are further expanded in the Supplementary Information to enable readers to dive more deeply into the previous literature on the site formation and geological configuration of the Rising Star cave system without needing to digest the entirety of the cited sources.
The Discussion section of the revised manuscript is differentiated from Results and focuses on several areas where the evidence presented in this study may benefit from greater context. One new section addresses hypothesis testing and parsimony for Pleistocene burial evidence, which we address at greater length in this summary below. The majority of the Discussion concerns the criteria for recognizing evidence for burial as applied in other studies. In this research we employ a minimal definition but other researchers have applied varied criteria. We consider whether these other criteria have relevance in light of our observations and whether they are essential to the recognition of burial evidence more broadly.
Vocabulary
We introduce the term “cultural burial” in this revised manuscript to refer to the burial of dead bodies as a mortuary practice. “Burial” as an unmodified term may refer to the passive covering of remains by sedimentary processes. Use of the term “intentional burial” would raise the question of interpreting intent, which we do not presume based on the evidence presented in this research. The relevant question in this case is whether the process of burial reflects repeated behavior by a group. As we received input from various colleagues it became clear that burial itself is a highly loaded term. In particular there is a common assumption within the literature and among professionals that burial must by definition be symbolic. We do not take any position on that question in this manuscript, and it is our hope that the term “cultural burial” may focus the conversation around the extent that the behavioral evidence is repeated and patterned.
Sedimentology and geochemistry of Dinaledi Feature 1
Reviewer 4 provided detailed comments on the sedimentological and geochemical context that we report in the manuscript. One outside review (Foecke et al. 2024) included some of the points raised by reviewer 4, and additionally addressed the reporting of geochemical and sedimentological data in previous work that we cite.
To address these comments we have revised the sedimentary context and micromorphology of sediments associated with Dinaledi Feature 1. In the new text we demonstrate the lack of microstratigraphy (supported by grain size analysis) in the unlithified mud clast breccia (UMCB), while such a microstratigraphy is observed in the laminated orange-red mudstones (LORM) that contribute clasts to the UMCB. Thus, we emphasize the presence and importance of a laterally continuous layer of LORM nature occurring at a level that appears to be the maximum depth of fossil occurrence. This layer is severely broken under extensive accumulation of fossils such as Feature 1 and only evidenced by abundant LORM clasts within and around the fossils.
We have completely reworked the geochemical context associated with Feature 1 following the comments of reviewer 4. We described the variations and trends observed in the major oxides separate from trace and rare-earth elements. We used Harker variations plots to assess relationships between these element groups with CaO and Zn, followed by principal component analysis of all elements analyzed. The new geochemical analysis clearly shows that Feature 1 is associated with localized trace element signatures that exist in the sediments only in association with the fossil bones, which suggests lack of postdepositional mobilization of the fossils and sediments. We additionally have included a fuller description of XRF methods.
To clarify the relation of all results to the features described in this study, we removed the geochemical and sedimentological samples from other sites within the Dinaledi Subsystem. These localities within the fissure network represent only surface collection of sediment, as no excavation results are available from those sites to allow for comparison in the context of assessing evidence of burial. These were initially included for comparison, but have now been removed to avoid confusion.
Micromorphology of sediments
Some referees (1, 3, and 4) and other commentators (including Martinón-Torres et al. 2024) have suggested that the previous manuscript was deficient due to an insufficient inclusion of micromorphological analysis of sediments. Because these commentators have emphasized this kind of evidence as particularly important, we review here what we have included and how our revision has addressed this comment. Previous work in the Dinaledi Chamber (Dirks et al., 2015; 2017) included thin section illustrations and analysis of sediment facies, including sediments in direct association with H. naledi remains within the Puzzle Box area. The previous work by Wiersma and coworkers (2020) used micromorphological analysis as one of several approaches to test the formation history of Unit 3 sediments in the Dinaledi Subsystem, leading to the interpretation of autobrecciation of earlier Unit 1 sediment. In the previous version of this manuscript we provided citations to this earlier work. The previous manuscript also provided new thin section illustrations of Unit 3 sediment near Dinaledi Feature 1 to place the disrupted layer of orange sediment (now designated the laminated orange silty mudstone unit) into context.
In the new revised manuscript we have added to this information in three ways. First, as noted above in response to reviewer 4, we have revised and added to our discussion of micromorphology within and adjacent to the Dinaledi Feature 1. Second, we have included more discussion in the Supplementary Information of previous descriptions of sediment facies and associated thin section analysis, with illustrations from prior work (CC-BY licensed) brought into this paper as supplementary figures, so that readers can examine these without following the citations. Third, we have included Figure 10 in the manuscript which includes six panels with microtomographic sections from the Hill Antechamber Feature. This figure illustrates the consistency of sub-unit 3b sediment in direct contact with H. naledi skeletal material, including anatomically associated skeletal elements, with previous analyses that demonstrate the angular outlines and chaotic orientations of LORM clasts. It also shows density contrasts of sediment in immediate contact with some skeletal elements, the loose texture of this sediment with air-filled voids, and apparent invertebrate burrowing activity. To our knowledge this is the first application of microtomography to sediment structure in association with a Pleistocene burial feature.
To forestall possible comments that the revised manuscript does not sufficiently employ micromorphological observations, or that any one particular approach to micromorphology is the standard, we present here some context from related studies of evidence from other research groups working at varied sites in Africa, Europe, and Asia. Hodgkins et al. (2021) noted: “Only a handful of micromorphological studies have been conducted on human burials and even fewer have been conducted on suspected burials from Paleolithic or hunter-gatherer contexts.” In that study, one supplementary figure with four photomicrographs of thin sections of sediments was presented. Interpretation of the evidence for a burial pit by Hodgkins et al. (2021) noted the more open microstructure of sediment but otherwise did not rely upon the thin section data in characterizing the sediments associated with grave fill. Martinón-Torres et al. (2021) included one Extended Data figure illustrating thin sections of sediments and bone, with two panels showing sediments (the remainder showing bone histology). The micromorphological analysis presented in the supplementary information of that paper was restricted to description of two microfacies associated with the proposed “pit” in that study. That study did carry out microCT scanning of the partially-prepared skeletal remains but did not report any sediment analysis from the microtomographic results. Maloney et al. (2022) reported no micromorphological or thin section analysis. Pomeroy et al. (2020a) included one illustration of a thin section; this study may be regarded as a preliminary account rather than a full description of the work undertaken. Goldberg et al. (2017) analyzed the geoarchaeology of the Roc de Marsal deposits in which possible burial-associated sediments had been fully excavated in the 1960s, providing new morphological assessments of sediment facies; the supplementary information to this work included five scans (not microscans) of sediment thin sections and no microphotographs. Fewlass et al. (2023) presented no thin section or micromorphological illustrations or methods. In summary of this research, we note that in one case micromorphological study provided observations that contributed to the evidence for a pit, in other cases micromorphological data did not test this hypothesis, and many researchers do not apply micromorphological techniques in their particular contexts.
Sediment micromorphology is a growing area of research and may have much to provide to the understanding of ancient burial evidence as its standards continue to develop (Pomeroy et al. 2020b). In particular microtomographic analysis of sediments, as we have initiated in this study, may open new horizons that are not possible with more destructive thin-section preparation. In this manuscript, the thin section data reveals valuable evidence about the disruption of sediment structure by features within the Dinaledi Chamber, and microtomographic analysis further documents that the Hill Antechamber Feature reflects similar processes, in addition to possible post-burial diagenesis and invertebrate activity. Following up in detail on these processes will require further analysis outside the scope of this manuscript.
Access into the Dinaledi Subsystem
Reviewer 1 emphasizes the difficulty of access into the Dinaledi Subsystem as a reason why the burial hypothesis is not parsimonious. Similar comments have been made by several outside commentators who question whether past accessibility into the Dinaledi Subsystem may at one time have been substantially different from the situation documented in previous work. Several pieces of evidence are relevant to these questions and we have included some discussion of them in the Introduction, and additionally include a section in the Supplementary Information (“Entrances to the cave system”) to provide additional context for these questions. Homo naledi remains are found not only within the Dinaledi Subsystem but also in other parts of the cave system including the Lesedi Chamber, which is similarly difficult for non-expert cavers to access. The body plan, mass, and specific morphology of H. naledi suggest that this species would be vastly more suited to moving and climbing within narrow underground passages than living people. On this basis it is not unparsimonious to suggest that the evidence resulted from H. naledi activity within these spaces. We note that the accessibility of the subsystem is not strictly relevant to the hypothesis of cultural burial, although the location of the remains does inform the overall context which may reflect a selection of a location perceived as special in some way.
Stuffing bodies down the entry to the subsystem
Reviewer 3 suggests that one explanation for the emplacement of articulated remains at the top of the sloping floor of the Hill Antechamber is that bodies were “stuffed” into the chute that comprises the entry point of the subsystem and passively buried by additional accumulation of remains. This was one hypothesis presented in earlier work (Dirks et al. 2015) and considered there as a minimal explanation because it did not entail the entry of H. naledi individuals into the subsystem. The further exploration (Elliott et al. 2021) and ongoing survey work, as well as this manuscript, all have resulted in data that rejects this hypothesis. The revised manuscript includes a section in the results “Deposition upon a talus with passive burial” that examines this hypothesis in light of the data.