South Africa has eight World Heritage Sites. Here is the
first of eight articles, describing these sites.
Cradle of Humankind
The Cradle of Humankind, situated in the beautiful
Sterkfontein Valley near Johannesburg was proclaimed a World Heritage Sit on 2
December 1999. It was approved by UNESCO on the basis that: “The area contains
an exceptionally large and scientifically significant group of sites, which
throw light on the earliest ancestors of humankind. They constitute a vast
reserve of scientific information, the potential of which is enormous.”
It comprises a unique band of paleco-anthropological sites
across 47 000 hectares in the north-western corner of Gauteng and parts of
North West Province. It has yielded some of the most extensive fossil and artifact finds on earth, particularly for the period between four and one
million years ago, leading scientists to believe that the human family tree
took root here.
Over time, these first people used their free hands to shape
the first tool, which would herald global technology, spoke the first word and
slowly migrated on a journey to populate the earth.
There are 13 explored sites within the Cradle of Humankind;
with many more still to be discovered. Among these are the Strekfontein Caves,
where the famous Mars Ples and Little Foot fossils were found; Kromdraai which
contains later hominid specimens; Gondolin, which is home to an astonishing
90 000 fossil specimens; and Swartkrans, where burnt bones point to the
earliest controlled use of fire at least a million years ago.
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