They crawled deep

[Mark A Becker]

The thing that I miss, other than the original’s use of the present tense, which lent a certain eyewitness like quality to the poem, is ‘brains the size of oranges’
I recall thst you didn’t like it in the original, but it’s a vital, factual link to the unique physical dimensions of H Naledi that made their troglodytic existence possible. 
Without googling H Naledi, the reader would be confused as to why they buried their dead in caves and crawled in them…indeed, they might as well be Australopitheci or Homo Erecti 

They probably didn’t even have to crawl

Thanks busker-
The original poem led me to a version that I must now reconsider entirely.  I have since done some research on homo naledi and have found that I injected speculation that does not accurately reflect the (possible) special nature of these fossils. As Tim wrote, and you affirm, the brain size of homo naledi is THE crucial fact, apparently, as it seems to throw an chink in the thinking that purposeful behavior is dependent upon the evolution/size of the brain. Behavior such as the (proposed) intentional disposal of the dead.

As far as I know, a truly odd feature of this long gone species is that their bones appear in the deepest recesses of a cave (the Dinaledi Chamber), and would have required these individuals to squeeze through a 10 inch gap (Superman Crawl), to then climb a 40 foot cave feature (the Dragon's Back) in order to even access the 50 foot drop (The Chute), at the bottom of which their remains are found. And do this in complete darkness.  Did they use firelight to illuminate their way? Did they deposit their kind on purpose? Did they just wander too deep while exploring, and then fall 50 feet to their demise?

All speculation aside, the fact that fossil remains of these very small brained homo naledi appear in the deepest recesses of the Rising Star cave system in South Africa is, in itself, very fascinating.  I would not have looked deeper into this subject had it not been for Tim's poem, and I love that about the way he writes. That said, my version must go back to the drawing board due to the inaccuracies within it. Poetic license is one thing, but accuracy is important.