A team of researchers examined 23 teeth from at least 20 individuals from South Africa‘s Rising Star Cave system and found no evidence of the male-specific Amelogenin-Y protein.

A recent study, published in Cell, marks the first ancient protein analysis of Homo naledi and raises the possibility that the Dinaledi Chamber may contain predominantly, or possibly exclusively, female individuals. If confirmed, Homo naledi would become the first known non-human species to practice sex-specific burial.

A Decade-Old Puzzle

Since its discovery in 2013, Homo naledi has puzzled paleoanthropologists. This extinct human relative lived between 335,000 and 241,000 years ago and combined ape-like anatomy with distinct human features. So far, Homo naledi remains have only been found in the Rising Star Cave system in South Africa.

For over a decade, scientists noted that the adult fossils from the Dinaledi Chamber were nearly identical, lacking the skeletal variation usually seen between males and females. The reason for this similarity remained unclear.

Proteins Where DNA Fails

To investigate further, a team from the University of York, the University of Copenhagen, and additional institutions analyzed the remains at the molecular level. They used a minimally destructive acid-etching method to extract protein fragments, or peptides, from the enamel of the 23 teeth.

“Unlike those found in other remains like bone fragments, proteins in tooth enamel are preserved because dental enamel—the hardest tissue in the human body—shields proteins from environmental contamination even for millions of years. This makes them ideal carriers of genetic information from deep time. Our study helps explain the long-standing mystery of why Homo naledi lacked significant variation; it’s probably because they could have all belonged to one sex,” said Palesa Madupe, who conducted the research during her postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Copenhagen.

A Missing Male Marker

The researchers specifically searched for Amelogenin-Y, a protein produced only by the male Y chromosome, but detected none of it in the sampled teeth. To make sure the results were not due to modern contamination, a specialized chemistry team at the University of York independently confirmed that the amino acids were genuinely ancient. The findings remained consistent.

“The lack of male markers within the group is truly fascinating. It is incredibly exciting to gain a window not only into the biology of our ancestors, but also into how they lived. These findings offer rare insights into a culture that has, until now, been difficult to access directly. Advances in ancient protein analysis are opening the door to a far richer and more nuanced understanding of ancient hominins,” said Dr. Marc Dickinson from the university’s Department of Chemistry.

Ritual or Genetic Fluke?

The findings allow for two possible explanations. One is cultural: if the chamber were reserved for females, it could indicate that Homo naledi practiced sex-specific, symbolic mortuary behavior, a trait previously thought to be unique to modern humans.

The second explanation is biological. The researchers note that a small, isolated Homo naledi population could have lost or mutated the Amelogenin-Y gene, leaving males without the protein marker typically used to identify male remains.

Either explanation could reshape what scientists know about Homo naledi. If researchers confirm the site as an all-female burial chamber, it would suggest that symbolic behavior emerged earlier in the human lineage than previously believed. On the other hand, a genetic change across the population would show how isolation can shape a species’ biology in ways that fossils alone cannot reveal. This study shows how ancient protein analysis from teeth can open new windows into human evolution.

Austin Burgess is a writer and researcher with a background in sales, marketing, and data analytics. He holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a data analytics certification. His work focuses on breaking scientific developments, with an emphasis on emerging biology, cognitive neuroscience, and archaeological discoveries.

Archaeologists believe a site in present-day northern Iraq may preserve the remains of an ancient city whose fall was recorded in texts from ancient Mesopotamia.

While ancient texts described the event, the physical traces were not discovered until recently. Excavations at Kurd Qaburstan in the Kurdistan region have now revealed the clearest archaeological record of Middle Bronze Age siege warfare found in the area.

During the 2024 and 2025 excavation seasons, a team led by Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida and director of the Kurd Qaburstan Project, recovered 20 cuneiform tablets and more than 100 administrative sealings from destruction layers inside the Lower Town East Palace.

A Lost Archive

This collection represents the first substantial group of cuneiform texts found on the Erbil Plain, and their dating is unusually precise. Scribes wrote several tablets within days of one another, clustering around the period recorded as the city’s fall, which allows researchers to closely align the archaeological and historical records.

Epigraphers Paul Delnero and Parker Zane, from Johns Hopkins University and Yale University, are leading the translation effort with art historian Marian Feldman. The texts include palace administrative records and at least one letter that may mention a senior official from the ancient city of Qabra.

Some inscriptions may also correspond to destructions recorded on the Victory Stele of Dadusha, a monument that documents military campaigns in the region from the same period.

Burned Layers

The physical signs of the attack are clear. Collapsed buildings, burned layers, and numerous broken pottery pieces all show signs of a coordinated and sustained assault. The team found two layers of destruction, one above the other, which match the recorded events of Qabra’s conquest.

Within these layers of destruction, bioarchaeologist Andrea Zurek-Ost of Michigan State University identified the remains of 17 people. Several seem to have died where they fell, possibly including palace workers. Archaeologists found one individual face down over a stone basin. Researchers are now using isotopic and ancient DNA analyses to learn more about who these people were, where they came from, and how they might have been related.

Mapping The City Before It Fell

The destruction layers tell the story of the city’s final chapter. A magnetometer survey covering over 80 hectares provides a picture of what the city looked like before its fall.

Led by Andrew Creekmore III at the University of Northern Colorado, the survey detects buried structures by measuring changes in the Earth’s magnetic field. It revealed a monumental wall with bastions surrounding the site, fortifications that match those shown on the Victory Stele of Dadusha and support the identification of Kurd Qaburstan as ancient Qabra.

Researchers also found a preserved street with a drainage system, along with areas used for food processing and textile production. These features indicate that the city was more complex than researchers usually expect in northern Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamian history has often focused on southern cities such as Uruk, viewing the south as the birthplace of urban civilization. The evidence from Kurd Qaburstan challenges that view.

“The evidence from Kurd Qaburstan shows that northern cities could be large, complex, and politically significant, with administrative systems, fortifications, and infrastructure comparable to those of the best-known southern sites,” Earley-Spadoni says.

Findings from the Kurd Qaburstan Project were announced as part of a reports and proceedings release supported by the University of Central Florida and the U.S. National Science Foundation.

Austin Burgess is a writer and researcher with a background in sales, marketing, and data analytics. He holds an MBA, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and a data analytics certification. His work focuses on breaking scientific developments, with an emphasis on emerging biology, cognitive neuroscience, and archaeological discoveries.