Teacher Takes Part in Historic Discovery

The human genus just got a little bigger. On Thursday, September 10, 2015, paleoanthropologist and St. Mark’s visiting speaker Lee Berger, along with his team, announced the discovery of 15 prehistoric bodies in the Rising Star Cave in South Africa. These bones represent an entirely new species of human ancestor, dubbed Homo naledi. The news has astounded the scientific community but one St. Mark’s teacher was already expecting the big announcement. 

 

This past summer, John Mead, Eugene McDermott Master Teaching Chair in Science, traveled to South Africa to meet up with Lee Berger and his team at the Rising Star Cave, the site where Homo naledi was discovered. John explored the cave at Professor Berger’s dig site and even held rocks that contained the fossils of these ancient hominids. John also worked with researchers using a 3D scanner to analyze some 200 teeth from our predecessors.

 

“This particular Rising Star site was the most prolific fossil site in all of Africa in all of our recorded history,” John said. “That was really the chance of a lifetime. I’m especially very thankful to Dr. Berger for the invitation to go down there. Secondary school educators don’t often get the chance to go behind the scenes in the midst of a big discovery like this.”

 

John’s relationship with Lee began with a simple Facebook friend request. Lee and his team had made global news before with the discovery of another prehistoric skull in 2009. On a whim, John asked if Lee would be interested in fielding a few questions from his science class. Lee was able to do one better and spoke in person at St. Mark’s in 2012. He returned again last year, teasing a major upcoming announcement — the announcement that made headline news this morning. 

 

Later this month, Professor Berger will return to Dallas for a special presentation at the Perot Museum, and he will also make time to stop by campus and update students on his incredible discovery. 

Find out more about John's incredible journey at his blog and on Twitter. WFAA also interviewed John and his class for an evening news story available to watch here.