Unknown: La grotta della scoperta

These individuals assume the Homo Naledi made this ritualistic climb in a cave to bury their dead. You're not geologists you're archeologists. The whole cave structure could have been different 250,000 years ago. They could have just walked in and walked out, yet you assume way too much with no solid proof. You want to spin a narrative to fit your story. You're scientists get data before you reach a conclusion. Early on you admitted the entrance of the cave collapsed, yet you have no geologists on your team to give you data for your hypotheses. Please look at all possibilities before televising documentaries that are purely speculative.

Very interesting movie, but take the opinions of the scientists shown in the movie with a grain of salt, since they are everything but objective. Burying a dead body with a tool is far from being evidence of belief in the afterlife, or any belief at all. It's just a sign of respecting the personal property of the deceased and shows, that Homo Naledi was capable of feeling emotionally attached to things, not only showing emotions for other members of their species. Scientists projecting their personal beliefs and views instead of interpreting the facts, sadly that more common than it should be.

In order to review this movie you need to consider how good it is in terms of filmmaking and also the validity of the scientific claims that are being made. I've been interested in evolution and paleontology my whole life and have seen countless documentaries on this subject. It's very difficult to lay out a complex story in an hour and a half so I realize that we're not going to see all of the little details required to actually prove what they're saying. I would like to have seen more evidence that the rock they discussed is actually a stone tool but it's obvious that these creatures used tools to make those very distinctive carvings. It also seems certain that they did in fact bury their dead which certainly means that they weren't as primitive as they might have appeared with their small brains. So it was informative as well as entertaining for those of us who are interested in science and definitely worth watching.

I enjoyed the documentary and particularly appreciated the cartoon scenes that help the viewer understand the cave system and what this species might have been like. There is one aspect that I just find implausible about the theory of how the bones got to their resting spot. These ape/human creatures somehow ventured deep into a cave system with very tight and steep passageways with no light. It would have been pitch black for hundreds of yards AF advanced cave exploration while carrying their dead. They show an example of how you could bring fire into the cave to light the way. Sure that works for an open area, but the 36 ft chute that is super tight and straight down isn't something you could traverse while carrying lit torches. Plus you'd have to go hours in and hours out which would have required lots of wood. They would have been regularly stuck in the cave with no way to see a thing and died in there. Show me one crew going all the way to the end and back using fire as light and I'm on board otherwise this just isn't believable.

I think the subject matter is super interesting and the cinematography is really great.

However, I feel like the Scientists have done the classic poker term of "falling in love with your hand" meaning, they are making very bold statements, leaning towards calling them facts about something that is purely speculative.

I would love to see or hear from another team of Scientists that have little or no knowledge of this subject matter and to hear what their conclusions are.

I personally think there are some other obvious ways and methods that these remains could have made it to their final resting spots.

None the less, if you're into science, dawn of human and cave exploration, you'll enjoy this. I did.

I respect the dedication and years that the Scientists have put in here. Their passion is palpable, albeit possibly a bit one sided.