Cradle of Humankind

About 50kms north-west of Johannesburg is the World Heritage Site known as The Cradle of Humankind. The site is contains a complext system of limestone caverns, the most famous of these being the Sterkfontein Caves, where the 2.3 million year old fossil of Mr. Ples was discovered, the oldest hominid fossil ever discovered and the oldest evidence of humankind in the world. There have been a total of 200 caves found in the World Heritage Site, with the possibility of more still to be discovered. Of these caves, 13 fossil sites have been discovered and extensively examined, leading to the unearthing of the remains of the oldest fossils of mankind’s ancestors and some of the tools that would have been used by them.

The hominids, upright walking apes, are thought of as the origins of man. Although their remains are only found in the Sterkfontein Caves, it is highly likely that they lived all over Africa. The caves were just fortunate enough to have the right rock and climate types for allowing fossils to form. From the fossils that have been examined it is thought that the hominids in the area lived about 3.3 million years ago and there is also evidence of their taming of fire about 1.8 to 1 million years ago.

Sterkfontein Caves, Gauteng

The Sterkfontein Caves are open every day of the week, except Christmas and Easter, and tours run every half hour between 9am and 4pm., lasting around 45 minutes. The Wonder Cave is another popular cave in the area that is open to exploration.

Near to the Cradle of Humankind there are plenty of other activities available to tourists, including a lion and rhino game reserve and the Maropeng Visitors Centre, which was opened by former president Thabo Mbeki in 2005.