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Matthew Scott Berger
Berger in 2019
Born	1998 (age 26–27) Johannesburg, South Africa
Education	The University of Alabama (BA), The University of Southern California (MFA)
Parent(s)	Lee Rogers Berger (father), Jacqueline Berger (mother)

Matthew Scott Berger (born 1998) is a South African-American director and actor who is well known for his discovery of Australopithecus sediba at the age of nine.

Early life and education

Berger was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His father, Lee Rogers Berger, is a paleoanthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. His mother, Jacqueline, is a radiologist. Berger has an older sister.

Berger attended primary school and high school at St John’s College in Johannesburg, and graduated in 2016. He went on to receive a Bachelors of Arts degree from The University of Alabama majoring in anthropology and geology and minoring in criminal justice. As of May 2022, he is attending the University of Southern California to receive a Masters of Fine Arts degree in film and television production.

Discovery of Australopithecus sediba

On the 15th of August 2008, 9-year-old Matthew, accompanied his father Lee Rogers Berger and then post-doctoral student, Dr. Job Kibii on a fossil hunting expedition on the Malapa Nature Reserve. After arriving at the Malapa Cave site, Matthew ran off after his dog, Tau, away from the site. Within minutes, Matthew had stumbled upon the first remains of an early human ancestor - a clavicle and a jawbone embedded in a rock lying next to a lighting struck tree. Subsequent excavation, headed by his father, led to the discovery of numerous fossils nearby that dated back nearly two million years belonging to a new species of early human ancestor, Australopithecus sediba.

Involvement in the Discovery of Homo naledi

On the 13th of September 2013, South African cavers, Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker discovered the first fossils of an early human ancestor, Homo naledi while exploring the Rising Star Cave system in the Cradle of Humankind, South Africa. These first fossils were found in the Dinaledi Chamber which could only be accessed by a narrow, vertical "chute" or "chimney" measuring 12 m (39 ft) long with an average width of 20 cm (7.9 in).

After showing the initial photos of the discovery to Paleoanthropologist Lee Berger, a phone call was made to National Geographic asking to fund an expedition to excavate them. However, after getting the go-ahead to start assembling a team for the expedition, Lee knew he had to get more proof that these photos were showing what looked like new hominid fossils just laying on top of the soil in the cave chamber. He called for his son, Matthew, who was physically appropriate to fit down the narrow opening in the cave and who was also trained in taking scientific photos. A few days later, Matthew, Lee, Rick, Steve and a few other members of their caving club, returned to the cave system. After 45 minutes of spelunking through the cave system, they reached the top of the chute where Matthew descended after Rick into the Dinaledi Chamber. Once reaching the bottom, Matthew came face-to-face with hundreds of fossils laying at his feet. He emerged from the chamber over 45 minutes later with pictures that would confirm the discovery was as important as those initial photos showed.

References

1. "Matthew Berger (III)". IMDB.
2. Moseman, Andrew. "9-Year-Old Kid Literally Stumbled on Stunning Fossils of a New Hominid". Discover Magazine.
3. Dugger and Wilford, Celia W. and John Noble. "New Hominid Species Discovered in South Africa". The New York Times.
4. Gavshon and Carter, Michael and Sarah. "Fossil Find New Branch in Human Family Tree?". CBS News.
5. "Lee R. Berger". National Geographic.
6. "Matthew Berger - Class of 2021". University of Alabama Department of Anthropology.
7. "Matthew Berger, C. Earle Smith Award for Excellence". University of Alabama College of Arts & Science.
8. "UA Experience: Matthew Berger". Youtube. The University of Alabama.
9. Maugh II, Thomas H. (April 9, 2010). "2-Million-Year-Old Fossils Offer Look at Human Evolution".
10. "Australopithecus sediba". Smithsonian National Museum of Natural history.
11. Dirks, Paul H. G. M.; et al. (2015). "Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife. 4: e09561. doi:10.7554/eLife.09561. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 4559842. PMID 26354289.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link) Full list of authors
    • Paul HGM Dirks
    • Lee R Berger
    • Eric M Roberts
    • Jan D Kramers
    • John Hawks
    • Patrick S Randolph-Quinney
    • Marina Elliott
    • Charles M Musiba
    • Steven E Churchill
    • Darryl J de Ruiter
    • Peter Schmid
    • Lucinda R Backwell
    • Georgy A Belyanin
    • Pedro Boshoff
    • K Lindsay Hunter
    • Elen M Feuerriegel
    • Alia Gurtov
    • James du G Harrison
    • Rick Hunter
    • Ashley Kruger
    • Hannah Morris
    • Tebogo V Makhubela
    • Becca Peixotto
    • Steven Tucker
12. Tucker, Steven (13 November 2013). "Rising Star Expedition". Speleological Exploration Club. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
13. André Doussy. "SEC-Caving: Rising Star Expedition Finds over 1,000 Hominid Fossils". sec-caving.co.za.
14. "Our incredible origins: The astonishing tale of Homo naledi". Youtube. New Scientist.
15. "Explorer Lee Berger on the Discovery of New Species Homo Naledi". Youtube. World Science Festival.

• 1998 births
• Living people