The Sterkfontein Valley landscape in Western Gauteng and North West province (South Africa), The Cradle of Humankind, comprises a band of important palaeo-anthropological sites including Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, Coopers B, Wonder Cave, Drimolen, Gladysvale, Gondolin, Plover's Lake, Haasgat, Bolt's Farm and Minnaars Caves.
The Cradle of Humankind has produced the remains of hominids (i.e. human and pre-human) from over 2 to 3,3 million years ago, the early stone-age, the middle stone age, the later stone age, the early and late iron age and up to the present day. They have produced thousands of fossils and it is estimated that there may be up to 25 more sites in the area worth excavating.
Excavators have found the fossilised remains of hominids, their lithicultural remains (from about 2 million years onwards), and the fossils of other animals, plants and pollen. More than 500 hominid fossils, thousands of animal fossils, over 300 fragments of fossil wood, and over 9 000 stone tools - some of them the oldest in Southern Africa - have been found in the twelve explored sites within the Cradle of Humankind and more are still being discovered.
The excavations, which have continued for 62 years (intermittently), have left a large proportion of the deposits in the caves untouched and in situ as a temolin or witness for posterity, for the later application of new techniques of dating and analysis, and as part of the record of our heritage.
- Bolt's Farm - Discoveries of microfauna more than 4,5m years old
- Swartkrans - Earliest known deliberate use of fire around 1,3m years ago
- Sterkfontein - The famous "Mrs Ples" 2,5m years & "Little Foot" 3,3m years old
- Coopers B - A face specimen of robust ape-man
- Kromdraai - First specimen of robust ape-man found here in 1938
- Minnaars - Potential site for hominid fossils
- Plover's Lake - Abundant faunal remains around 1m years old
- Wonder Cave - Current excavations producing interesting fossils
- Drimolen - Newest fossil hominid site discovered, 30 specimens robust ape-man
- Gladysvale - Hominids, fauna and plant remains up to 3m years old
- Haasgat - Fossils of early forest-dwelling monkeys around 2,8m years old
- Gondolin - 90 000 fossil specimens since 1979
The Sterkfontein Valley area, The Cradle of Humankind, is comparable to a number of existing World Heritage Sites. These include:
The Sangiran Early Man Site in Java, Indonesia
The Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, People's Republic of China
Australian Fossil Mammal Sites: Riversleigh/Narcoote
The Lower Valley of the Awash, Ethiopia
The Lower Valley of the Omo, Ethiopia
From the point of view of the richness and variety of the deposits, the preservation of the specimens due to their location in caves, and the age of the specimens, the area must be seen as worthy of becoming one of the list of world sites which have palaeontological and palaeo-anthropological significance.
The Sterkfontein Caves are located within the Isaac Edwin Stegmann Reserve about 10km from Krugersdorp. These caves were donated to the University of Witwatersrand by the Stegmann family. A section of the caves is open to the public, and there is a gravel platform from which the public can view the excavation site. Other facilities include a tea-room and small museum in which information about significant findings are on display.
The Sterkfontein Caves were opened in the late 1890s by lime prospectors. Early explorers of the caves noted the presence of fossilised bone, but it was only in 1936, after students of Prof. Raymond Dart interested Dr Robert Broom in visiting the caves, that systematic work on the fossils began.
Right from the start the caves proved rich in hominids. In 1936 the Sterkfontein caves produced the first adult australopithecine, which substantially strengthened Raymond Dart's claim that the Taung child (Australopithecus africanus ) was a human ancestor. The Second World War unfortunately interrupted Broom's activities at Sterkfontein, but he resumed work with John Robinson in 1946. In 1947 he found the almost complete skull of an adult female Australopithecus africanus. Broom initially named the skull Plesianthropus transvaalensis ("near-man" of the Transvaal), which inspired the nickname 'Mrs Ples'.
'Mrs Ples' is estimated to be between 2.8 - 2.6 milLion years old and ranks high on the long list of australopithecine discoveries for which Sterkfontein is now famous.
The world's longest sustained excavation ever carried out at an ancient hominid sites was started in 1966 and continues today. Professor Philip Tobias (1966- to date), Mr Alun Hughes (1966-1991) and Dr Ron Clarke (1991-to date) have contributed to the recovery of a further 500 hominid specimens making
Sterkfontein is the richest site in the world for fossils of Australopithecus, a lineage of hominid which appeared over 4 million years ago.
South Africa's seven World Heritage Sites are:
 Cradle of Humankind
Greater St Lucia Wetland Park
Robben Island
uKhahlamba Drakensberg Park
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Cape Floral Region
Vredefort Dome
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