# Were the Hill Antechamber and Dinaledi features bodies placed in dug pits and deliberately covered? · Homo naledi and the Rising Star burial claims > Four answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Four are still possible. Of the two narrower questions under it, none is answered yet. Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies Publisher: Mysteries Department Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page) Updated: 2026-10-26T11:57:40+00:00 --- **0** # Were the Hill Antechamber and Dinaledi features bodies placed in dug pits and deliberately covered? Asked 26 Oct 2026 by [**apollo** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)·4 answers·0·0 following **Four answers, none ahead** None is ahead yet. See what would settle it. ## Where it stands Four answers have been proposed. None is ahead on the evidence yet. Four are still possible. Of the two narrower questions under it, none is answered yet. ## Why it matters If they were, these are the oldest known burials by more than 100,000 years and the work of a hominin with a brain a third the size of ours⁠[[1]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WW6G22RF/evidence-for-deliberate-burial-of-the-dead-by-homo-naledi)⁠[[2]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38X0BA1MZR/earliest-known-human-burial-in-africa). The final eLife assessment calls that a landmark finding if it holds, and splits on whether it does⁠[[3]](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWEA046H/elife-assessment-and-public-reviews-version-of-record). ## Answers 4 [**Bodies were buried by gravity-driven slumping or collapse of sediment within the chamber.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/answers/ANS0D38XDS00FH1/bodies-were-buried-by-gravity-driven-slumping-or-collapse-of) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**Bodies were placed or left on the floor or in natural hollows and became covered as the sediment moved and…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/answers/ANS0D38XD1J01GF/bodies-were-placed-or-left-on-the-floor-or-in-natural) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: 1 for, 1 against Still possible [**H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features…** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/answers/ANS0D38XBAW5W7R/h-naledi-dug-hollows-in-the-chamber-floor-laid-bodies-in) Tested, but the results don't decide it Evidence: 3 for, 3 against Disputed [**None of these.** ](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/answers/ANS0D38XEGE49YE/none-of-these) Not tested enough to call either way Evidence: none yet Still possible ## History 1. 2016[Val puts forward: bodies were placed or left on the floor or in natural hollows and became covered as the sediment moved and…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WZ48343W/deliberate-body-disposal-by-hominins-in-the-dinaledi-chamber) 1. 2020[Wiersma et al.: the fossil-bearing sediment forms by autobrecciation and is reworked in place, so hollows and chemical…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WYMM7J84/formation-of-mud-clast-breccias-and-the-process-of)Against: H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features… 1. 2023[eLife reviewers puts forward: bodies were buried by gravity-driven slumping or collapse of sediment within the chamber.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWP45D1P/public-reviews-of-the-reviewed-preprint-version-1-evidence) 1. 2023[eLife reviewers: reviewers found no demonstrated pit cut, no micromorphology of the disturbed sediment and no full excavation…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWP45D1P/public-reviews-of-the-reviewed-preprint-version-1-evidence)Against: H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features… 1. 2023[eLife reviewers: reviewers note articulated elements are commingled with disarticulated ones from the same or different…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWP45D1P/public-reviews-of-the-reviewed-preprint-version-1-evidence)For: Bodies were placed or left on the floor or in natural hollows and became covered as the sediment moved and… 1. 2023[eLife reviewers: a 2023 reviewer faulted the first version for not weighing erosion and slumping.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWP45D1P/public-reviews-of-the-reviewed-preprint-version-1-evidence)For: Bodies were buried by gravity-driven slumping or collapse of sediment within the chamber. 1. 2024[Martinón-Torres et al.: published critique finds neither dug pits nor deliberate covering demonstrated.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38X03G25V3/no-scientific-evidence-that-homo-naledi-buried-their-dead)Against: H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features… 1. 2025[Berger et al. puts forward: h. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WW6G22RF/evidence-for-deliberate-burial-of-the-dead-by-homo-naledi) 1. 2025[Berger et al.: articulated, matrix-supported skeletal regions show bodies were covered before soft tissue decayed.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WW6G22RF/evidence-for-deliberate-burial-of-the-dead-by-homo-naledi)For: H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features… 1. 2025[eLife editors and reviewers: one of the two final reviewers judged the evidence to convincingly show intentional burial.](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WWEA046H/elife-assessment-and-public-reviews-version-of-record)For: H. naledi dug hollows in the chamber floor, laid bodies in them and covered them with sediment; some features… 1. 2025[Berger et al.: the 2025 paper argues that decomposition on the floor or in a shallow depression is excluded by the spatial…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WW6G22RF/evidence-for-deliberate-burial-of-the-dead-by-homo-naledi)Against: Bodies were placed or left on the floor or in natural hollows and became covered as the sediment moved and… 1. 2025[Berger et al.: the 2025 paper argues the topography and sediment observations exclude slumping as the cause of rapid…](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0D38WW6G22RF/evidence-for-deliberate-burial-of-the-dead-by-homo-naledi)Against: Bodies were buried by gravity-driven slumping or collapse of sediment within the chamber. 1. 26 Oct 2026Asked on this site ## Discussion 0 [Add to the discussion](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies%23discussion) Help with this question [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ] [ **Propose an answer** Something the evidence could support or rule out ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies%23add-answer) [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ] [ **Add evidence** A result for or against an answer ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies%23add-evidence) [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ] [ **Ask a sub-question** A smaller question that would help settle this one ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies%23add-question) [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ] [ **Add a source** A paper, archive record or image ](https://mysteriesdept.com/signin?next=/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7DW1XKH/were-the-hill-antechamber-and-dinaledi-features-bodies%23add-source) Where it fits Homo naledi and the Rising Star burial claims **Were the Hill Antechamber and Dinaledi features bodies placed in dug pits and deliberately covered?** Key question · you're here [Did Homo naledi make the cross-hatched marks on the walls of the Hill Antechamber?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X85A4VBA/did-homo-naledi-make-the-cross-hatched-marks-on-the-walls-of)Open · 4 answers, inconclusive [Is the stone found by the hand in the Hill Antechamber Feature an artefact placed with the body?](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/homo-naledi-burials/questions/QST0D38X7XG7DZN/is-the-stone-found-by-the-hand-in-the-hill-antechamber)Open · 3 answers, inconclusive [ Ask a question under this one ]