Renowned Paleoanthropologist Visits Campus
Paleoanthropologist Dr. Lee Berger returned to campus on Tuesday, October 10, to share some of the newest discoveries from his excavation of Homo naledi at Rising Star Cave in South Africa. Since first visiting in 2012, Dr. Berger has been a frequent guest of St. Mark’s, sharing progress on his historic excavation project.
“Dr. Berger announced that his team and The Hill Foundation are giving fossil casts of the near completed skeleton to each of the schools they visited,” wrote John Mead, Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science, in a post for National Geographic’s Education Blog. “When new pieces of the skeleton are recovered, those pieces will be also be cast and sent to the schools to allow students and teachers to add to their existing collection. This is an unprecedented act of generosity that will benefit students for decades to come!”
After the discovery of the second chamber this summer, the excavation team installed Wi-Fi cameras throughout the Rising Star Cave to allow better communication. This also allowed Dr. Berger and his team to host a live Google Hangout with the entire St. Mark’s Middle School last month. In fact, just as one Middle Schooler asked the team how often they make discoveries, one of the excavators uncovered a rib fragment in front of them.
Dr. Berger and his team have been on the road this week, courtesy of the Lyda Hill Foundation, visiting local Dallas schools and speaking at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
You can watch Dr. Berger's full presentation below.
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Dr. Berger was accompanied by six “underground astronauts,” members of the excavation team who are able to fit through the tiny openings to explore the various chambers of the Rising Star Cave. He also brought the exciting news that a second fossil chamber was discovered in May 2017, containing the fossils of three individual specimens of Homo naledi. For St. Mark’s, this announcement came with an added bonus.
“Dr. Berger announced that his team and The Hill Foundation are giving fossil casts of the near completed skeleton to each of the schools they visited,” wrote John Mead, Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science, in a post for National Geographic’s Education Blog. “When new pieces of the skeleton are recovered, those pieces will be also be cast and sent to the schools to allow students and teachers to add to their existing collection. This is an unprecedented act of generosity that will benefit students for decades to come!”
After the discovery of the second chamber this summer, the excavation team installed Wi-Fi cameras throughout the Rising Star Cave to allow better communication. This also allowed Dr. Berger and his team to host a live Google Hangout with the entire St. Mark’s Middle School last month. In fact, just as one Middle Schooler asked the team how often they make discoveries, one of the excavators uncovered a rib fragment in front of them.
Dr. Berger and his team have been on the road this week, courtesy of the Lyda Hill Foundation, visiting local Dallas schools and speaking at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science.
You can watch Dr. Berger's full presentation below.
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St. Mark’s School of Texas
10600 Preston Road
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
Dallas, Texas 75230
214-346-8000
About Us
St. Mark’s School of Texas is a private, nonsectarian college-preparatory boys’ day school for students in grades 1 through 12, located in Dallas, Texas. St. Mark’s aims to prepare young men to assume leadership and responsibility in a competitive and changing world.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
St. Mark’s does not discriminate in the administration of its admission and education policies on the basis of race, color, religion, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin.
