Unknown: Cave of Bones is an interesting Netflix documentary about the discovery of Homo Naledi, a hominid species whose bones were recently discovered deep in a cave system in South Africa. Evidence suggests the bones had been buried which would pre-date the earliest known homo sapiens burials by one-hundred fifty thousand years.

This documentary wants you to feel the excitement and wonder of its spelunking anthropologists as it retells the discovery of the cave system, documents its eye-popping floorplan, and the discovery of the suspected burial site. It explains the physical features (and demonstrates via animation) of these early hominids, adding a healthy dose of speculation about what they may have been like.

Sometimes that speculation might go a little too far… but, then again, I’m not an expert on ancient hominids. Surely these scientists bring a lot more big brain experience and knowledge than I have doubt. I’d have liked to see some more even-handed, skeptical analysis from scientists outside of this team… but, than again, this isn’t exactly a peer reviewed article… it’s a bit of science popularization.

It also might be a horror show to those with claustrophobia. Prepare to feel the squeeze as these cave explorers wriggle into uncomfortably narrow places… and pray they aren’t trolling us with a faux documentary sequel to The Descent (spoiler alert: they aren’t).

I think it’s a worthwhile watch if you have any interest in anthropology, deep time, and the discovery of ancient human relatives. It might be a little sentimental and light on analytics… but it’s probably deep enough for us casual couch potato homo sapiens.

Score: 79