No time has been as ripe with promise for paleoanthropology as today. From our earliest ancestors to our not-so-distant cousins who lived alongside us, new discoveries tell us more than ever about our past.
With support from Lyda Hill Philanthropies and the National Geographic Society, Explorer in Residence Lee Berger and the Rising Star team have yielded incredible discoveries — with many more to come.
“I honestly do think that we are in the greatest age of exploration in all of history.”
Where We Explore
The Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, located in South Africa, has been vital to the study of human origins. In recent decades, Berger and his team have located and documented more hominin fossils than any other exploration program in the region.
Berger led the findings of two extinct hominin species: Australopithecus sediba in 2008 at the Malapa site and the Homo naledi in 2013 in the Rising Star cave system. The Rising Star cave system is so difficult to access that only 48 humans have been documented to have entered the Dinaledi chamber (Chamber of Stars) where the fossils of H. naledi were found, almost a hundred yards from the cave entrance.
Berger and his team are continuing their research in the Rising Star cave system to learn more about this extinct hominin species. By exploring our past, they hope to shed light on our future.
Tour of the Cave
New Revelations About Our Prehistoric Past
Cave of Bones: A True Story of Discovery, Adventure, and Human Origins
Released in 2023 by National Geographic Books, this book dives into the true-life scientific adventure, taking readers deep into South African caves as Berger and team uncover H. naledi fossil remains that compel a reframing of the human family tree.
Meet the Explorers
Join Us to Illuminate and Protect the Wonder of Our World
Our Human Histories and Cultures Explorers dedicate their lives to documenting, investigating, studying and preserving our planet’s past while uncovering the very roots of humanity. We invite you to join us on this incredible journey as we explore our past to better understand our future.
Together, we can uncover our origins like never before.