Cradle of Humankind

Short description: Paleoanthropological site near Johannesburg, South Africa

For other uses, see History:Cradle of Humankind (disambiguation).

Fossil Hominid Sites of South AfricaUNESCO World Heritage Site

Cradle of Humankind

Location| South Africa
Criteria| Cultural: iii, vi
Reference| 915
Inscription| 1999 (23rd session)
Extensions| 2015

The Cradle of Humankind[1][2][3] is a paleoanthropological site that is located about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa, in the Gauteng province. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999,[4] the site is home to the largest known concentration of human ancestral remains anywhere in the world.[5] The site currently occupies 47,000 hectares (120,000 acres)[6] and contains a complex system of limestone caves. The registered name of the site in the list of World Heritage Sites is Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa.

According to the South African Journal of Science, Bolt's Farm is the place where the earliest primates were discovered.[7] Bolt's Farm was heavily mined for speleothem (calcium carbonate from stalagmites, stalactites, and flowstones) in the terminal nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.[8]

The Sterkfontein Caves were the site of the discovery of a 2.3-million-year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus (nicknamed "Mrs. Ples"), found in 1947 by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson. The find helped corroborate the 1924 discovery by Raymond Dart of the juvenile Australopithecus africanus skull known as the "Taung Child" at Taung in the North West Province of South Africa, where excavations still continue.

Nearby, but not in the site, the Rising Star Cave system contains the Dinaledi Chamber (chamber of stars), in which were discovered fifteen fossil skeletons of an extinct species of hominin, provisionally named Homo naledi.

Sterkfontein alone has produced more than a third of early hominid fossils found prior to 2010.[9] The Dinaledi Chamber contains more than 1,500 H. naledi bone specimens from at least 15 individuals, the most extensive discovery of a single hominid species ever found in Africa.[10]

## Contents

* 1 Etymology
* 2 History of discoveries
* 3 Geological context
* 4 Visitor centres
* 5 See also
* 6 References
* 7 Further reading
* 8 External links

## Etymology

The name Cradle of Humankind reflects the fact that the site has produced a substantially large number of hominin fossils, some of the oldest yet found, dating as far back as 3.5 million years ago.[1][2][3]

## History of discoveries

Short description: Hominin events for the last 10 million years

{{Graphical timeline

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| bar2-from=-9.800
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| bar3-from=-9.000
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| bar4-from=-7.000
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| bar6-from=-4.400
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| note14=Exit from Africa

| note15-at=-1.500
| note15=[[Biology:Control of fire by early humans#Lower Paleolithic evidence

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| caption=

(million years ago)

(See also: Life timeline, and Nature timeline.)

In 1935, Robert Broom found the first human fossils at Sterkfontein and began work at this site. In 1938, a young schoolboy, Gert Terrblanche, brought Raymond Dart fragments of a skull from nearby Kromdraai that later were identified as Paranthropus robustus. Also in 1938, a single human tooth was found at the Cooper's Cave site between Kromdraai and Sterkfontein.

In 1948, the Camp-Peabody Expedition from the United States worked at Bolts Farm and Gladysvale looking for fossil hominids, but failed to find any. Later in 1948, Robert Broom identified the first hominid remains from Swartkrans cave.

In 1954, C. K. Brain began working at sites in the Cradle, including Cooper's Cave. He then initiated his three-decade work at Swartkrans cave, which resulted in the recovery of the second-largest sample of hominid remains from the Cradle. The oldest controlled use of fire by Homo erectus also was discovered at Swartkrans and dated to more than 1 million years ago.[11][12]

In 1966, Phillip Tobias began his excavations of Sterkfontein that are still continuing and are the longest continuously running fossil excavations in the world.

In 1991, Lee Berger of the University of the Witwatersrand discovered the first hominid specimens from the Gladysvale site, making it the first new early hominid site to be discovered in South Africa in 48 years. In 1994, Andre Keyser discovered fossil hominids at the site of Drimolen. In 1997, Kevin Kuykendall and Colin Menter of the University of the Witwatersrand found two fossil hominid teeth at the site of Gondolin. Also in 1997, the near-complete Australopithecus skeleton of "Little Foot", then dated to approximately 3.3 million years ago (more recent dating suggests it is closer to 2.5 million years ago), was discovered by Ron Clarke.

In 2001, Steve Churchill of Duke University and Lee Berger found early modern human remains at Plovers Lake. Also in 2001, the first hominid fossils and stone tools were discovered in-situ at Cooper's Cave. In 2008, Lee Berger discovered the partial remains of two hominids (Australopithecus sediba) who lived between 1.78 and 1.95 million years ago in the Malapa Fossil Site.

In October 2013, Berger commissioned geologist Pedro Boshoff to investigate cave systems in the Cradle of Humankind for the express purpose of discovering more fossil hominin sites. Cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker discovered hominid fossils in a previously unexplored area of the Rising Star-Westminster Cave System that is assigned site designation UW-101. In November 2013, Berger led a joint expedition of the University of the Witwatersrand and National Geographic Society to the Rising Star Cave System near Swartkrans. In just three weeks of excavation, the six-woman international team of advance speleological scientists (K. Lindsay Eaves, Marina Elliott, Elen Feuerriegel, Alia Gurtov, Hannah Morris, and Becca Peixotto), chosen for their paleoanthropological and caving skills, as well as their small size, recovered more than 1,200 fossil specimens of an unidentified hominin species. As of 2015, the site remained in the process of being dated. In September 2015, Berger, in collaboration with National Geographic, announced the discovery of a new species of human relative, named Homo naledi, from UW-101.[13][14][15] Most remarkably, besides shedding light on the origins and diversity of the Homo genus, H. naledi also appears to have intentionally deposited bodies of its dead in a remote cave chamber, a behaviour previously thought limited to later Homo species.[16][17] In the last days of the Rising Star Expedition, cavers Rick Hunter and Steven Tucker discovered additional fossil hominid material in another portion of the cave system. Preliminary excavations at this site, designated UW-102, had begun by 2013 and yielded complete hominid fossil material of its own. The relationship of site 101 to 102 is not known.[18][19][20]

* Australopithecus africanus (reconstruction)

* Australopithecus sediba

## Geological context

The hominin remains that fossilised over time at the Cradle of Humankind are found in dolomitic caves, and are often encased in a mixture of limestone and other sediments called breccia. Early hominids may have lived throughout Africa, but their remains are found only at sites where conditions allowed for the formation and preservation of fossils.[21]

## Visitor centres

On 7 December 2005, South African President Thabo Mbeki opened the new Maropeng Visitors Centre at the site.[22] Per the maropeng.co.za website, visitors may see fossils, view stone tools, and learn about the birth of humankind in the visitors centre. The visitors centre also offers a tour of the Sterkfontein Caves and the exhibition at Sterkfontein. A light, moveable, steel structure known as the Beetle has been placed over the Malapa site, to allow the paying public to view excavations, once they resume at the site. (Digging has been on hold since 2009, when the remains of four A. sediba individuals were removed.)[23][needs update]

* Tumulus building at Maropeng visitors centre

* Front of Maropeng

* Maropeng Visitor Centre

## See also

* Cradle of civilization
* Dawn of Humanity, a 2015 PBS film
* Maropeng Cavemen, South Africa field hockey club
* Muldersdrift
* Recent African origin of modern humans
* Wonder Cave

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Fleminger, David (2008). The Cradle of Humankind. 30° South Publishers. pp. 7–10. ISBN 978-0-9584891-3-3.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Cradle of Humankind – David Fleminger" (in en-US). http://www.davidfleminger.co.za/books/cradle-of-humankind/.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Wayman, Erin. "The Human Evolution World Tour" (in en). https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-human-evolution-world-tour-10925648/.
4. ↑ "Why is the Cradle of Humankind important?". https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/Cradle-of-Humankind/601978.
5. ↑ "Fossils in the Cradle of Humankind site reignite debate over origins of humans". NBC News. 2022-06-30. https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/fossils-cradle-humankind-site-reignite-debate-origins-humans-rcna35867.
6. ↑ "Maropeng a'Afrika and the Cradle of Humankind". maropeng.co.za. http://www.maropeng.co.za/index.php/about/.
7. ↑ "Research Briefs". South African Journal of Science 109 (5/6): 1–2. 2013. doi:10.1590/sajs.2013/a0017. ISSN 0038-2353.
8. ↑ Edwards, Tara R.; Armstrong, Brian J.; Birkett-Rees, Jessie; Blackwood, Alexander F.; Herries, Andy I.R.; Penzo-Kajewski, Paul; Pickering, Robyn; Adams, Justin W. (2019-01-14). "Combining legacy data with new drone and DGPS mapping to identify the provenance of Plio-Pleistocene fossils from Bolt's Farm, Cradle of Humankind (South Africa)" (in en). PeerJ 7. doi:10.7717/peerj.6202. ISSN 2167-8359. PMID 30656072.
9. ↑ Smith, David (15 January 2010). "Visit to the Cradle of Humankind". The Guardian (London). https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/jan/15/sterkfontein-caves-south-africa.
10. ↑ Wong, Kate (10 September 2015). "Mysterious New Human Species Emerges from Heap of Fossils". Scientific American. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mysterious-new-human-species-emerges-from-heap-of-fossils/.
11. ↑ Brain, CK; Sillen, A (1988). "Evidence from the Swartkrans Cave for the earliest use of fire". Nature 336 (6198): 464:466. doi:10.1038/336464a0. Bibcode: 1988Natur.336..464B.
12. ↑ Hilton Barber, Brett; Berger, Lee R (December 2004). Field Guide to the Cradle of Human Kind: Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai and Environs World Heritage Site. (First ed.). Cape Town: Penguin Random House. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-77007-065-3. http://www.penguinrandomhouse.co.za/book/field-guide-cradle-humankind/9781770070653. Retrieved 10 September 2016.
13. ↑ "New Species of Human Discovered in South Africa". IFLScience. http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/newly-discovered-human-ancestor-likely-ritualistically-disposed-its-dead.
14. ↑ Photograph Mark Thiessen, National Geographic (10 September 2015). "This Face Changes the Human Story. But How?". National Geographic. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/.
15. ↑ Berger, Lee R.; Hawks, John; De Ruiter, Darryl J.; Churchill, Steven E.; Schmid, Peter; Delezene, Lucas K.; Kivell, Tracy L.; Garvin, Heather M. et al. (2015). "Homo naledi, a new species of the genus Homo from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.09560. PMID 26354291.
16. ↑ Johannesburg, The University of the Witwatersrand. "Homo naledi - Wits University". http://www.wits.ac.za/homonaledi/.
17. ↑ Dirks, Paul HGM; Berger, Lee R.; Roberts, Eric M.; Kramers, Jan D.; Hawks, John; Randolph-Quinney, Patrick S.; Elliott, Marina; Musiba, Charles M. et al. (2015). "Geological and taphonomic context for the new hominin species Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber, South Africa". eLife 4. doi:10.7554/eLife.09561. PMID 26354289.
18. ↑ "Rising Star Expedition". http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/tag/rising-star-expedition/.
19. ↑ "Scientists bag more than 1000 fossils at Cradle 'treasure trove'". http://mg.co.za/article/2013-11-26-scientists-bag-more-than-1000-fossils-at-cradle-treasure-trove.
20. ↑ "Johannesburg Update". http://johnhawks.net/weblog/hawks/travel/johannesburg-update-feb-2014.html.
21. ↑ Esterhuysen, Amanda (2019-12-06). "If we are all African, then I am nothing: Hominin evolution and the politics of identity in South Africa". in Porr, Martin. Interrogating Human Origins: Decolonisation and the Deep Human Past. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. pp. 279–292. doi:10.4324/9780203731659. ISBN 978-0-203-73165-9. OCLC 1128062043.
22. ↑ "Mbeki opens Maropeng centre". News24. 8 December 2005. http://www.news24.com/News24/Technology/News/0,,2-13-1443_1847397,00.html. "Maropeng, which means 'the place where we come from,' is expected to receive over 500 000 visitors annually, according to the Gauteng provincial government."
23. ↑ Cherry, Michael (2015). "Human evolution: The cradle of humankind revisited" (in en). Nature 523 (7558): 33. doi:10.1038/523033a. ISSN 1476-4687. Bibcode: 2015Natur.523...33C.

## Further reading

* Brett Hilton-Barber and Lee R. Berger (2002). The Official Field Guide to the Cradle of Humankind: Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai & Environs World Heritage Site. Cape Town, South Africa: Struik Publisher. ISBN 9781868727391. OCLC 50215942.

## External links

| Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Cradle of Humankind.

|

* "Richest human fossil site found in South Africa", BBC News, 28 November 2013
* Rising Star Expedition—National Geographic
* Sterkfontein and Maropeng visitor attractions website
* Maropeng – The Cradle of Humankind Official Website
* UNESCO – Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, and Environs
* Cradle of Humankind Map
* Palaeo Tours – Scientist-led tours to the "Cradle"
* Human Timeline (Interactive) – Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History (August 2016)

* v
* t
* e

Cradle of Humankind

Sites|

* Bolt's Farm
* Cooper's Cave
* Drimolen
* Gladysvale
* Gondolin
* Haasgat
* Kromdraai
* Makapan Valley
* Malapa
* Minaars Cave
* Motsetsi
* Plovers Lake
* Rising Star Cave
* Sterkfontein
* Swartkrans
* Wonder Cave

Fossils|

* Australopithecus africanus
* Taung Child
* Mrs. Ples
* Little Foot
* Australopithecus sediba
* Paranthropus robustus
* Homo naledi
* Homo gautengensis

Anthropology|

| Scientists|

* Lee Berger
* C. K. Brain
* Robert Broom
* H. B. S. Cooke
* Ronald J. Clarke
* Raymond Dart
* Andre Keyser
* John T. Robinson
* Phillip V. Tobias

|

Expeditions|

* Rising Star Expedition
* Underground Astronauts

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