Today I went to visit the “Cradle of Humankind” which is a valley in this region, where more hominid fossils have been found than anywhere else on earth. The Sterkfontein caves are a World Heritage Site {Other WHS: Great Barrier Reef in Australia, the Pyramids in Egypt, the Great Wall of China, the Taj Mahal in India.} This is where two very important finds were located, establishing the first hominid in the evolution chain.
I arrived just in time for the next tour and immediately went for the escorted cave tour. Nothing like the Carlsbad Caves, but they are interesting. Went down 60 or 90 meters underground (can’t remember what the guide told us and it doesn’t say in the brochure. Some of the areas on our way back up were so small that you had to either sit down to go through, or stoop down to go through openings that were less than 3 meters high. Pics did not turn out so good but I’m posting a few anyway. I did not like the fact that they were letting people touch the fossils in the caves; skin oils will destroy the fossils !
A view of part of the valley on our walk from the main building to the entrance of the caves
A sign along the way ! ! !
Entering the first part of the cave. This is where "Little Foot" fell in millions of years ago.
The caves
Not a good picture but this is the lady behind me in her beautiful red sarong, bending down to get through the low passage.
Our exit from the caves
Looking back down
Another view of the surrounding valleysThe two major finds in the Sterkfontein Caves were the following: the skull of an Australopithecus Africanus (southern ape of Africa) which they named “Mrs. Ples”, discovered by Dr. Robert Broom in 1947 = distant human relative that lived more than 2 million years ago in the Cradle of Humankind. This was one of the missing links establishing that humankind evolved in Africa and out from here to other regions in the world. (Still controversial in some scientific circles.) She was an upright walking homanid, but her brain was only slightly larger than today’s chimpanzees. She had humanlike teeth and hands. In recent years, CT scans have determined that Mrs. Ples was probably a male, based on prominent ridges at the roots on the canine teeth.
skull of Mrs. PlesThe second find “Little Foot” is still, after 16 years of off and on work, being excavated out of the rocks. They can only excavate when the current professor is on-site, and unfortunately he does not come here very often. Similar hominid fossils have since been located, but those at Sterkfontein (thousands of them) are the most famous in the world.
Other interesting tid bits: The first stone tools were made and used in Africa at least 2.6 million years ago. The “cycad” is the oldest plant on earth today. (Pictures of these taken at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens outside of Cape Town.) They evolved more than one hundred and eighty million years before our “ancestors” walked this earth. They existed when dinosaurs roamed the earth, and they saw the emergence of mammals and primates. They were one hundred and sixty million years old when the Alps, Andes and Himalayas were infants.From the caves, I drove the 10 km to Maropeng (which means Returning to the place of origin), an educational centre which provides information on the history of the earth, evolution of man, the world today and questions about what the future will hold for us on earth.
The main entrance to the underground centre
Inside the main entranceA lot of text to read and a good two hour visit. One of the huge banners, hanging 3 floors down the main entrance, contained the following text, which I photographed in order to record it and share it with you. It is long, but it contains some gems that I worth reading and reflecting on. There were no caps or punctuation, but I’ve added them for clarity, without putting in the question marks. There was no indication of who compiled the list of questions
“ Did the universe begin with a big bang. Am I free. Am I unique. Are all hominids bipeds. Is the devil all bad. Are there parallel universes. Are we alone. Are you for real. Are you happy. Can God make a rock so big she can’t lift it. Can fish think. Can some of us predict the future. Are you sad. Can you give me directions. Can time be contained or mastered. Did Eve arrive before Adam. Did we really send men to the moon or was it just Kubrick. Did shaggy do it. Do people become stars when they die. Do we all experience colour in the same way. Do we connect in ways beyond speech, look and touch. Does time travel exist. How many countries are there in the world. Does money make the world go round. Has Laurasia ever beaten Gondwana at cricket. Did Michael ever learn to rock. Who am I. How could Lee Harvey Oswald be a loner when he had a wife and kids. How evolved was Charles Darwin. How long is a piece of string. Is Bob you Uncle. How many cabs are there in New York City. Was Mrs. Ples in love when she died. How many grandchildren will I have. Is the truth really out there. Is theology scientific. How many notes are there on a saxophone. Is red wine really good for your heart. How old is the earth, really. Is humanity doomed. How long will we be here. Who is Keyser Soze. If God is the answer, what is the question. How many cooks is too many. What is genius. If the USA won the space race, who is winning the human race. If you had a choice, who would you choose to meet in all of history. Is brain size indicative of intelligence. How many tears in a bottle of gin. Does money make the world go round. Is it possible to make hot ice-cream. Are you typical of your star sign. How are you. Is science another kind of religion. How old will earth become. Is there a God. Is the glass half full or half empty. How many bones are there in a human body. Is the human experience simply a test. When will we ever learn. What is love. Is the universe open or closed. Do we have souls. What is it that an elephant never forgets. Is there a fourth dimension. Is there an afterlife. How did little foot fall into the caves. When will the earth’s oil reserves run out. Is there life on Mars. What do points make. What is spirituality. What is thought. Was Leonardo da Vinci the first true scientist. What is it like to see the earth from space. Were there ever any wmds(1). What is memory. What can I do to make the world a better place. What do we all have in common. What happens to your lap when you stand up. If you could be a bird, what bird would it be. Why did kamkaze pilots wear helmets. What is colour. What is existence. Genetically, are we closer to pigs or mice. What is language. Where are we going. Where did I leave my cell phone. What’s up. Will anybody actually read all these questions. What is Maropeng. What happened to Mr. T. Why do cows have spots. What is Zen. What is your future. What makes a clock tick. Is it better to be late than never. What time is it. When am I going to die. When is the sixth extinction going to be. Who has walked here before me.”
(1) Wmds = weapons of mass destruction
The extinct dodo bird
My hand in Nelson Mandela's handprints
Mandela's quote about our future on earth
View from the roof of the lookoutI drove back to the hotel in Krugersdorf and after finding the mall to purchase some dinner, and watched some movies on TV.
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