Sterkfontein Caves Cradle of Humankind

CRADLE OF HUMANKIND WORLD HERITAGE SITE

During the Sterkfontein Caves underground tour, you will need to crawl or squat through a narrow tunnels, so if you struggle with muscle or back problems, conditions such as asthma, claustrophobia or heart, and other respiratory, problems, you’re advised NOT to go underground.

If you do go, take your own torch and wear good shoes as it can be wet and slippery in places!

Declared a UNESCO World Heriage Site in 1999, the Sterkfontein Caves complex – roughly one hour (50kms : 33miles) north-west of Johannesburg in the Cradle of Humankind, has, along with East Africa, the world’s longest recorded human activity.

Owned by the University of the Witwatersrand, Sterkfontein Caves is one of 15 fossil bearing dolomitic caves found in the 47,000 hectare Cradle of Humankind – so named because it contains the world’s richest concentration of hominid remains.

The dolomitic caves in the Cradle of Humankind, which have been formed by chemical weathering, involving water, during the last 3.5 million years, are the perfect preserve for the ancient fossils of our own human evolution.

GOLD MINING . . . AND ITS EFFECT!

Fast forward to the discovery of gold in the nearby goldfields in the 1880’s, where lime was needed to help with the extraction of gold from the ore bearing rock.

These dolomitic caves which had protected their fossils for eons, were discovered as a source of lime, and were mined – using explosives, in the late 1890’s.

The miners, as well as visitors who had started to frequent the caves, discovered fossils, but it was only in 1935 that scientists became involved in their preservation.

Since then, palaeoanthropologists have unearthed roughly one third of all fossils of early human ancestors ever found!

Sterkfontein is not a pretty cave!

There are no coloured lights showing off vast chambers with huge cascading limestone formations, and not many stalagtites or stalagmites remain.
These were removed during the mining!

It is however a cave of immense historical interest.

Hundreds of hominid and animal fossils, some older than 4-million years, have been discovered.

Austrolopithecus means ‘southern ape’

“Mrs Ples”, a 2.1-million-year-old Australopithecus skull, and “Little Foot”, an almost complete Australopithecus skeleton, more than 3-million years old, are amongst the most important.

Finds in other caves in the Cradle of Humankind, include six skeletons of Australopithecus sediba, that were discovered at the Malapa Fossil Site (15 kms from Sterkfontein Caves) in August 2008 and at least 15 species of Homo Naledi, that were discovered in 2013 in the Rising Star Cave system, close to Sterkfontein Caves; 2-million-year-old stone tools and a collection of 270 burnt bones, showing that “man” harnesed the power of fire more than 1-million years ago.

Warning!

It’s a bit daunting reading the sign at the ticket office warning you of “very narrow entrances where you will have to squat or crawl”, and advise you NOT to do the tour if you “suffer from asthma, claustrophobia or heart and other respiratory problems”!

Add to this the 115 steps you have to go down into the cave and then the 211 steps you have to climb up to get out!

I should mention though, that these deterrents weren’t enough to stop a young 80 year old Italian signora tourist in our group from going underground!

RUBBER MATS SLIPPERY

Numerous sinkholes allow both natural light and air into the cave and the temperature is a constant, cool 18° C (65° F) with very little humidity.

I found the rubber mats that you walk on quite slippery when wet, so wear a decent pair of shoes.

The cave is lit with electric lights, but take your own torch (flashlight) or headlight.
Our guide, Norman, had one, but when I was further back in the group, I missed being shown into some dark areas

There are no places that you have to squeeze through, though you need to bend or crawl through a 1 metre (3 feet) high ‘obstacle’ at one point!

Link to the Sterkfontein Caves website