[3][5] Her thesis was on the biomechanics of the hominoid shoulder and its role in tool-making (flint knapping),[6] and included research on Homo naledi fossils from Rising Star Cave in South Africa.
[3] In 2013, whilst a PhD student, Feuerriegel responded to an advertisement on Facebook calling for "skinny, highly-qualified paleontologists"[1] with caving experience.
The advertisement was placed by Lee Berger, who was recruiting a team to recover hominid fossils he had discovered in the difficult-to-access Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave.
Feuerriegel's analysis of the fossils uncovered in the cave were published in an issue of Nature dedicated entirely to the expedition.
[7] As part of the expedition Feuerriegel helped excavate the fossils, which were subsequently assigned to a new species of human, Homo naledi.