“Unknown-Cave of Bones” Documentary- a Review

Update: The reception of this documentary from the public has been great. It’s been awful from scientists. Why? It’s not because they do not wish to see the science being communicated, they, including the journal reviews, feel that this announcement, was rushed, and could possibly damage future research. Why was this done? Various reasons are being given, from the malignant to the innocent. What is plain is that MORE WORK NEEDS TO BE DONE. How this will all affect open science, time will tell. WhT this documentary does NOT do, is tell the science behind the evidence. It’s a show, it’s for entertainment.

Do your own research, and read what other researchers, both on and off the team not in the documentary what they think!

For many, the ever-evolving story of Rising Star is not new but a gift that keeps on giving, revealing new secrets and moments of utter fascination to the world each time Dr. Berger et al. comes out with a new announcement. This month has been no different in that sense, but quite different in what was revealed and, more importantly- how.

Today, July 17th, 2023, Netflix is releasing the next episode in their new series called “Unknown” with an episode titled Cave of Bones, about, you guessed it! The Rising Star expedition, especially in the last few field seasons. This documentary was created because massive announcements were made this month concerning the enigmatic species of Homo naledi. Today we will take a quick trip into Rising Star to discuss this episode and whether or not it is worth your watch. As Dr. Berger has not even seen it yet, I am proud to say that I was allowed an early viewing, and I am very excited about what I saw.

Briefly, let’s review what was announced over the past few months. 

Announced in three preliminary papers, with the peer reviews coming out during the past week, we were told some fantastic things. Homo naledi is supposedly responsible for purposefully, and even “ritualistically” interring, burying their dead, in shallow graves deep in the cave system, throughout various chambers. However, even this had been thought of and was not the biggest of the news that was to come. Of course, more work needs to be done to confirm any of this. We also learned that there are potential engravings above the graves and in other locations purportedly made by naledi, showing possible “meaning-making” symbols whose meaning will forever be lost to time. Finally, we now have solid evidence of fire use through the caverns without the issue of losing too much oxygen or any such problems. All of this is fascinating and constitute very bold claims with a fair amount of evidence. To be honest, though, the summary of the reviewers of the papers concluded that there is not sufficient evidence or methodologies used to support these claims,

All of that being said, what it means is that there is a lot more work to do! And you better believe that the work is being lined up, assigned to people, and is getting started! 

This season’s expedition just started before my interview with Dr. Berger! 

The episode starts with a brief history lesson on Human Evolution and the History of naledi and Rising Star. We meet the team from Doctorates John Hawks, Agustin Fuentes, and of course, Lee Berger and all of the talented, hard-working researchers, archaeologists, and paleoanthropologists under them. 

The filming is beautiful, the music is set perfectly, and the mood of the documentary is fitting for a trip deep underground, as well as back in time. The problems and challenges of the cave system are genuinely shown to the public for the first time, the tight squeezes, impossible drops, and unknown passageways. For the first time, as members of the people, we are taken into another world, a subterranean one, where science is being done on levels and with challenges that few outside those who work in Space and the Deep Sea. 

With each big announcement, we get to see what was presented to the explorers as they first saw them; we hear their thoughts and opinions on the finds. Combined with the papers, and now the peer reviews, as well as the multitude of media coverage, along, of course, with the work I have been doing trying to figure out what I can about what is going on in that chamber, this is one of the best ways to experience Rising Star that has yet been available for the general populous. 

I will be honest; I am not a big fan of Netflix; I think most of their shows are cheap, but I do not like them. They even support trite like Graham Hancock with his series Ancient Apocalypse. Netflix is not looked happily upon by most serious researchers. I do not know the story behind this documentary, how it landed on Netflix, or why, but I am happy it did. The production quality is impressive, the editing perfect, and the storytelling provided by those that we see is stunning. 

If you have a Netflix account or access to one, I highly suggest watching this documentary, as if you are a fan of Human Evolution, Archaeology, or exploration, you will want to take advantage of this!