Jo'Blog: Cradle of Humankind

Yesterday I went to the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO heritage site where many important fossil discoveries have been made, including "Mrs. Ples" and "Little Foot". I don't think I'd heard of these fossils before coming here, so don't feel bad if you haven't either. In any case, they are early hominid fossils that have helped to piece together our evolutionary history.

I started at Maropeng, the visitor's centre at the Cradle of Humankind and museum. I arrived just before a tour was starting so I decided to join them, even though you can go through on your own. Our guide told us about the history of the universe and about the Cradle of Humankind site. There are 13 excavation sites on the 47000 hectares and two additional sites that have been added because of additional discoveries. The museum was alright. It started with a boat tour going through the four elements of life, which was mostly disappointing. The exhibits were nice, but some of the interactive parts weren't working properly and most of the information was reminders from biology or anthropology class. The fossil exhibit was cool since there were actual fossils, some of which had been discovered nearby. After exiting the museum though you can climb up the building and check out "the best view in Gauteng". It was a very nice view and you could see for miles in every direction.

After Maropeng, I headed to the Sterkfontein Caves, the actual site were Mrs. Ples and Little Foot were discovered (and where they are actually still trying to properly excavate Little Foot). The caves were very cool. I think our guide said we went 60m underground. Our tour guide was awesome, kind of sarcastic and really funny. He did tell us a serious story though about the lake in the caves that has been rising for the past few years. Three students from Wits University (I think) went on a scuba diving expedition to determine how far the lake went. They swam for kilometers and never found the end. And on the way back, one of them got lost and died from hypothermia. Since then, they haven't allowed any other divers in the lake.

The way out of the caves was a pretty tight squeeze. I thought they were kind of exaggerating when they said that at the beginning of the tour so they couldn't be liable or anything, but there were times when I went through on my bum, squatted and did an "ape walk" (as the guide called it), or bent over to make it through.

Maropeng, the visitor centre of the Cradle of Humankind

Jean LeCastor finally makes an appearance! For those of you who don't know Jean, check out my facebook album Jean LeCastor Tours Europe. You might also be able to find him in Florida, spring break 2012, and occasionally in Michigan. Here he is at the entrance to the museum.