Scientists [have] announced the discovery of a never-before-seen human relative, now known as Homo naledi, in a South African cave. The site yielded more than 1,500 bone fragments. That rich fossil cache revealed much about the creatures, yet it left one glaring question unanswered: when did Homo naledi live? The scientists had no evidence for how old the fossils were. Without that information, it was very hard to know where the new species fits on the tangled human family tree, and to figure out its true meaning.Over time, anthropology’s situation has improved greatly with the introduction of new techniques like the measurement of radioactive isotopes that decay predictably over time. Radiocarbon dating can measure the age of the bones themselves. Other techniques, such as potassium-argon dating, can derive the age of surrounding volcanic rock. But even those methods are often limited. Radiocarbon dating works only on fossils 50,000 years or younger, not helpful for most of the 7 million years or so of human evolution. Potassium-argon dating can be applied to much older fossils, but it is useless where there are no volcanic rocks……Within the dark chamber where naledi was found, there were no convenient volcanic rocks. The lack of age information is especially confounding because Homo naledi contains such an odd mixture of morphologies. Some of the fossils’ traits look very modern, for example their human-like hands and feet; others look remarkably ancient, for instance their primitive shoulders and hips. The evolutionary implications of naledi would look entirely different if the fossils were 2 million versus 20,000 years old - and either is possible. A creature with a modern, delicate hand resembling those of modern humans would present a baffling surprise if it lived 2 million years ago. Conversely, a primitive shoulder that appears to be built for climbing would make sense millions of years ago, but doesn’t fit with our ideas about hominin lifestyles in the more recent past. One scientist went so far as to claim that without a convincing measured age, the naledi fossils reveal almost nothing about human evolution.On the other hand, the story of Neanderthals shows how far we’ve come. Using radiocarbon dating, we now know that Neanderthals lived from about 400,000 years ago to 40,000 years ago. Throughout the 20th century, scientists refined these dates using increasingly creative techniques, such as measuring light produced by heated crystals to derive their precise compositions. This knowledge has allowed us to prove that Neanderthals preceded but overlapped with (and occasionally interbred with) modern Homo sapiens.While they wait for similar dating breakthroughs for naledi, some scientists see the lack of an established age as an opportunity in disguise. It allows them to focus on the fossil’s anatomy without being biased by information about its chronology. Anthropologists don’t need to study naledi in isolation; they can compare it - statistically, morphologically, visually - to other known hominins. By focusing on the fossil’s feel rather than its taste, these comparisons move us closer to understanding where Homo naledi fits on the family tree. Even without knowing an exact when, they bring us closer to knowing who we are.Question 14The passage describes the limitations of radiocarbon and potassium-argon dating in the context of:Dating fossils found in volcanic regions only.Determining the age of fossils beyond 50,000 years.Applying to the entire 7 million years of human evolution.Estimating the age of Homo naledi fossils specifically.