The Cradle of Humankind is a site related to the study of human origins. It is located about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Gauteng province. In 1999, UNESCO declared the site a World Heritage Site because it contains the largest known collection of human ancestor remains in the world. The site covers 47,000 hectares (120,000 acres) and includes a complex system of limestone caves. The official name of the site on UNESCO's list is Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa.
According to the South African Journal of Science, Bolt's Farm is the location where the earliest primates were found. During the late 1800s and early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for speleothem, which is calcium carbonate found in stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstones.
The Sterkfontein Caves are where a 2.3-million-year-old fossil of Australopithecus africanus, nicknamed "Mrs. Ples," was discovered in 1947 by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson. This discovery supported the 1924 finding by Raymond Dart of the juvenile Australopithecus africanus skull known as the "Taung Child," which was uncovered in Taung, North West Province, South Africa. Excavations at Taung continue today.
Nearby, but outside the Cradle of Humankind site, the Rising Star Cave system includes the Dinaledi Chamber (chamber of stars). This area contains fifteen fossil skeletons of an extinct hominin species, temporarily named Homo naledi.
Sterkfontein alone has produced more than one-third of all early hominid fossils discovered before 2010. The Dinaledi Chamber holds over 1,500 bone specimens from Homo naledi, representing at least 15 individuals. This is the most extensive discovery of a single hominid species ever found in Africa.
Etymology
The name Cradle of Humankind shows that the site has uncovered many hominin fossils, some of the oldest ever found, dating back as far as 3.5 million years ago.
History of discoveries
In 1935, Robert Broom discovered the first human fossils at Sterkfontein and began working at this site. In 1938, a young student named Gert Terrblanche gave Raymond Dart pieces of a skull from Kromdraai, which were later identified as Paranthropus robustus. Also in 1938, a single human tooth was found at Cooper's Cave, located between Kromdraai and Sterkfontein.
In 1948, the Camp-Peabody Expedition from the United States searched for fossil hominids at Bolts Farm and Gladysvale but did not find any. Later that year, Robert Broom identified the first hominid remains from Swartkrans cave.
In 1954, C. K. Brain started working at sites in the Cradle of Humankind, including Cooper's Cave. He then began his work over three decades at Swartkrans cave, where scientists recovered the second-largest collection of hominid remains from the Cradle. The oldest known use of fire by Homo erectus was also discovered at Swartkrans and dated to more than 1 million years ago.
In 1966, Phillip Tobias began excavations at Sterkfontein, which continue to this day and are the longest continuously running fossil excavations in the world.
In 1991, Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand found the first hominid specimens at Gladysvale, making it the first new early hominid site discovered in South Africa in 48 years. In 1994, Andre Keyser found fossil hominids at Drimolen. In 1997, Kevin Kuykendall and Colin Menter of the University of the Witwatersrand discovered two fossil hominid teeth at Gondolin. Also in 1997, the nearly complete Australopithecus skeleton of "Little Foot," originally dated to about 3.3 million years ago (more recent dating suggests it is closer to 2.5 million years ago), was found by Ron Clarke.
In 2001, Steve Churchill of Duke University and Lee Berger discovered early modern human remains at Plovers Lake. Also in 2001, the first hominid fossils and stone tools were found in-situ at Cooper's Cave. In 2008, Lee Berger found the partial remains of two hominids (Australopithecus sediba) at the Malapa Fossil Site, who lived between 1.78 and 1.95 million years ago.
In October 2013, Berger asked geologist Pedro Boshoff to study cave systems in the Cradle of Humankind to find more fossil hominin sites. Cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker discovered hominid fossils in an unexplored part of the Rising Star-Westminster Cave System, assigned site designation UW-101. In November 2013, Berger led an expedition with the University of the Witwatersrand and National Geographic Society to the Rising Star Cave System near Swartkrans. In three weeks, a team of six women, chosen for their skills in paleoanthropology, caving, and small size, recovered more than 1,200 fossil specimens from an unidentified hominin species. As of 2015, the site was still being dated. In September 2015, Berger and National Geographic announced the discovery of a new human relative species, named Homo naledi, from UW-101. Notably, H. naledi appears to have intentionally placed the bodies of its dead in a remote cave chamber, a behavior previously thought to be limited to later Homo species. Later, cavers found additional fossils in another part of the cave system, designated UW-102. The relationship between sites UW-101 and UW-102 is not yet known.
- Australopithecus africanus (reconstruction)
- This skull is part of the holotype for Australopithecus sediba
Geological context
The hominin remains that turned into fossils over time at the Cradle of Humankind are found in caves made of dolomite. These remains are often surrounded by a type of rock called breccia, which is made of broken pieces of limestone and other materials. Early hominids might have lived across Africa, but their remains are only found in places where conditions helped form and protect fossils.
Visitor centres
On December 7, 2005, South African President Thabo Mbeki opened the new Maropeng Visitors Centre at the site. According to the maropeng.co.za website, visitors can see fossils, look at stone tools, and learn about the beginning of human life at the centre. The visitors centre also provides a tour of the Sterkfontein Caves and the exhibition at Sterkfontein. A lightweight, movable steel structure called the Beetle has been placed over the Malapa site to allow the public to view excavations once work starts again at the site. (Digging has been paused since 2009, when the remains of four A. sediba individuals were removed.)
- Tumulus building at the Maropeng Visitor Centre
- Front of Maropeng
- Maropeng Visitor Centre