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We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently by dating three H. naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of 222Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth of 253 +82\/\u201370 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70\/\u201361 ka. We consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphology.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.7554\/elife.24231","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,5,9]],"date-time":"2017-05-09T04:26:56Z","timestamp":1494304016000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":246,"title":["The age of Homo naledi and associated sediments in the Rising Star Cave, South\u00a0Africa"],"prefix":"10.7554","volume":"6","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1582-1405","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Paul HGM","family":"Dirks","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Geoscience, James Cook University, Townsville, Australia"},{"name":"Evolutionary Studies Institute and the National Centre for Excellence in PalaeoSciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits, 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