Homo naledi, our celebrated “ancestor” discovered with much fanfare two years ago at the Rising Star cave system in Gauteng, is now available for all and sundry to experience in the virtual world. The Perot Museum of Nature and Science in Dallas‚ Texas‚ teamed up with Wits University to launch an app on Tuesday that allows anyone to virtually tour the cave that only six “underground astronauts” have visited in person‚ and to “touch” the bones. Because of its narrow chute of only 18cm‚ it is impossible for most people to get into the cave‚ while the bones themselves have only been displayed in SA. The Perot Museum initially created this experience for its new Being Human Hall‚ then decided to make the virtual reality journey into Dinaledi Chamber‚ where Homo naledi was discovered‚ to be accessible beyond the walls of the museum. “We are hugely excited by this partnership‚” chief scientist Professor Lee Berger said during the Facebook Live launch filmed at the museum. “And this comes ...
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