In the middle of economic gloom South Africa has got a dramatic fossil find as a reason to celebrate, but some experts have questioned its scientific significance. By contrast, the political significance is not doubtful.

South African Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said they are happy that discoveries they never imagined have been found here. Last week, he shared the stage with scientists during the televised announcement of ‘Homo naledi’.

The discovery has been done in a cave 50 kms northwest of Johannesburg. It is Africa’s largest collection of hominin fossils, 15 individuals pieced together from more than 1,500 fragments.

Homo naledi has stirred excitement also because scientists said that the hominids appeared to bury their dead, which was a trait earlier thought to be uniquely human.

The discovery has lifted sagging spirits in South Africa. On Monday, the Business Day newspaper said in an editorial, “For a while at least, South Africa was the place where leading scientific research happens, not the vulnerable, emerging market economy”.

As per some scientists the conclusions are hasty. Christoph Zollikofer of the University of Zurich said that in science you always find a gap between the data you have and the interpretations you have drawn. He added that in the case of proclaiming a new species, the gap is quite big.

Some other scientists said the fossils belonged to an already-named species. Tim White, from The University of California, said that on the basis of what he had seen the fossils belonged to Homo erectus, a species that were found in the late 19th century.