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These 6 women risked death to recover an amazing scientific discovery

Kevin Loria

2015-09-12T13:00:00Z

underground astronauts homo naledi — The "underground astronauts," from left: Becca Peixotto, Alia Gurtov, Elen Feuerriegel, Marina Elliott, K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter, and Hannah Morris. Christo Saayman

When South African spelunkers Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker went off-map and discovered a hidden chamber in Rising Star cave, about 30 miles northwest of Johannesburg, it was an incredibly lucky find.

They found and then crammed themselves through a hole that was at one point just over seven inches wide, and then traveled 50 feet down.

At the bottom they spotted a jawbone. They took photos with a GoPro, and then brought them to the the door of National Geographic explorer-in-residence Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand.

Berger realized that this was big: the jaw looked like some kind of primate related to early humans. And there were more bones — many more. But it was going to require some special skills to get them out.

So he posted an ad on Facebook. "We need perhaps three or four individuals with excellent archaeological/palaeontological and excavation skills," it read. "The catch is this – the person must be skinny and preferably small. They must not be claustrophobic, they must be fit, they should have some caving experience, climbing experience would be a bonus. They must be willing to work in cramped quarters, have a good attitude and be a team player."

He ended up with six women who fit the insane physiological and academic requirements for the task, who he'd later refer to as "underground astronauts." These six brave scientists would unearth the largest collection of hominid fossils ever discovered in Africa, a whole new species to transform our understanding of the human family tree. They called it Homo naledi.

Scroll on for the story of their fantastic expedition, which is featured in National Geographic's October cover story.

For the initial excavation in November of 2013, about 60 people gathered — cooks, climbers and cavers, researchers, and of course, the "underground astronauts."

11_Homo_naledi_cr_Andrew_Howley_National_Geographic.JPG — Campsite in South Africa where National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger of the University of Witwatersrand led an expedition to recover the remains of H. naledi, a new species of human relative. The find was announcedbythe University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Andrew Howley/National Geographic

The team first entered the chamber — which was given the name Dinaledi, meaning many stars — on November 10, 2013. Each trip required a "Superman crawl" through a 10-inch passage, and then a far more daunting trip down the incredibly narrow chute into the chamber.

the cave homo naledi — This image is from the October issue of National Geographic Magazine. Jason Treat, National Geographic, Source: Lee Berger, Wits

Anthropologist Marina Elliott squeezes through a tight spot here, but the chute was the "real bruiser," an expedition blog noted at the time. "Squeezing through tiny openings, jamming knees and elbows into cracks for stability, and unavoidably swinging or banging into the countless spines and protuberances has given these explorers what amounts to temporary full-body leopard-print tattoos."

12_Homo_naledi_cr_Elen Feuerriegel — “Underground astronaut” Marina Elliott working in a tight area of the Rising Star cave located outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, whereH. naledi, a new species of human relative, was discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Elen Feuerriegel

Source: Rising Star Expedition blog

Elliott and paleontologist Ashley Kruger explore a side chamber of the cave here. As Dr. William Harcourt-Smith, a researcher with the paleontology division of the American Museum of Natural History, who led some of the research on the fossils, tells us, this type of fieldwork was nuts — "some of the most difficult conditions ever for paleontologists to work in."

homo naledi mystery_man_elliot_ross — This image is from the October issue of National Geographic Magazine. Elliot Ross/National Geographic

The team extracted around 1,550 fossils from the chamber, but there are still thousands more in there. Anthropologist Becca Peixotto, a member of the team whom Berger describes as "one of the six people willing to quite literally risk their lives on a daily basis," sits in the chamber here with Elliott and archaeologist Hannah Morris.

18_Homo_naledi_cr_Garrreth Bird — “Underground astronauts” Marina Elliott, Becca Peixotto and Hannah Morris work inside the cave where fossils of H. naledi, a new species of human relative, were discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Garrreth Bird

"As busy as it was, there were moments when you were lucky enough to be the first person out there in the morning or the last person there in the evening," surrounded by the remains of a new member of our evolutionary family tree and with dripping stalactites overhead, Peixotto said on a press call.

homo naledi bones — This image is from the October issue of National Geographic Magazine. Robert Clark/National Geographic

Tucker (shown here) and Hunter — both now National Geographic explorers — provided support for the team throughout the trip, along with other cavers.

16_Homo_naledi_cr_Garrreth Bird — Caver Steven Tucker squeezes through a narrow passage in the Rising Star cave. Tucker was one of the cavers on Lee Berger’s exploration team who found the chamber where H. naledi, a new species of human relative, was discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Garrreth Bird

Elliott and Peixotto (shown here) and the other four women settled into a routine of working six-hour shifts underground at a time. It wasn't long before they realized they had a whole collection of bodies, which researchers would later realize seem to have been deposited over a period of time. This leads them to believe these small-brained hominins were burying or stashing them in the chamber intentionally.

17_Homo_naledi_cr_Garrreth Bird — “Underground astronauts” Marina Elliott and Becca Peixotto work inside the cave where fossils of H. naledi, a new species of human relative, were discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Garrreth Bird

Getting each bone out was like solving a puzzle, says Peixotto — they had to pass them up the jagged, narrow chute, without breaking anything along the way. They spotted a marking on the wall that indicated at some point in the 1980s, a caver had crawled down to where they were. But that anonymous, mysterious person seems to have missed the collection of fossils at their feet.

A reconstruction of homo naledi's, based on the bones they found. This image is from the October issue of National Geographic Magazine. Mark Thiessen/National Geographic

Paleoanthropologist K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter here checks out some scans of the underground excavation era. In one tiny section of the chamber, they found bones from 15 individuals — enough to identify the strange characteristics of this new species.

15_Homo_naledi_Elen Feuerriegel.JPG — “Underground astronaut” K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter checking scans of the underground excavation area. Hunter was part of a team that excavated the chamber where H. naledi, a new species of human relative, was discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Elen Feuerriegel

Here are the six "underground astronauts" along with the two cavers who first spotted the fossils (from far left, clockwise): Rick Hunter, Alia Gurtov, Becca Peixotto, Elen Feuerriegel, Steven Tucker, Hannah Morris, K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter and Marina Elliott.

13_Homo_naledi_cr_Christo Saayman — Underground exploration team (from far left, clockwise) Rick Hunter, Alia Gurtov, Becca Peixotto, Elen Feuerriegel, Steven Tucker, Hannah Morris, K. Lindsay (Eaves) Hunter and Marina Elliott on the final day of excavations at the Rising Star cave located outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, where H. naledi, a new species of human relative, was discovered. The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife. Christo Saayman

These early-career scientists discovered a creature that shows some incredibly primitive hominid elements, like a tiny brain, one-third the size of ours — but with feet almost like those of modern humans. This broadens the picture of the evolution of modern hominins, like us. Our past family tree is more complex than we knew.

Berger says that the fact that this small-brained creature "had the capacity, both mental and behavioral, to deliberately dispose of its dead is a repeated fashion" is shocking. Harcourt-Smith calls it a "game-changer," though there's still much more to learn.

The find was announced by the University of the Witwatersrand, the National Geographic Society and the South African National Research Foundation and published in the journal eLife.

ngm_october_2015_cvr — National Geographic Magazine October Cover National Geographic