Over the next several weeks, the expert team, directed by National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence Lee Berger of South Africa's University of Witwatersrand, will delve into the Rising Star cave system outside Johannesburg to carefully retrieve the fossils.

Working under Berger’s direction, local cavers made the latest discovery at a site several miles from Malapa. The fossils will be excavated by a team made up of experienced caver-scientists from around the world. All have passed Berger's requirement of being small enough to fit into and out of cramped cave passages.

Without knowing exactly which species the bones come from, the team hopes their arduous recovery helps answer a broad list of deep questions about humanity's origins.

South African sites have long been important to