#sterkfontein cave!!

[thatswhatsushesaid]

dear diary, i can't stop watching caving disaster videos where even the diagrams alone are enough to make me want to climb directly out of my own skin. send help.

[lost-lycaon]

Sterkfontein Cave, Marooeng, South Africa

[parttimereporter]

GO VEG!? Early humans were plant based!?

The research, published in Science, focused on specimens from the Sterkfontein cave near Johannesburg, part of South Africa’s “Cradle of Humankind,” an area renowned for its abundant early hominin fossils. Using innovative chemical analysis techniques, researchers examined fossilized teeth from seven Australopithecus specimens, comparing them with teeth from other animals that lived alongside them, including ancient relatives of antelopes, cats, dogs, and hyenas.

The findings challenge long-held assumptions about early human diet. The Australopithecus specimens showed nitrogen levels similar to plant-eaters and significantly lower than meat-eaters from the same period. However, they demonstrated remarkable dietary flexibility. The seven specimens showed more variation in their chemical signatures than any other species studied, suggesting they could adapt their diet based on what foods were available.

[fairwish]

This is Part 1 in a series of poems that I'm working on for the Obey Me! brothers. I would comment on the person that I wrote this one for but, just like with my other boys, I feel like if I start talking about how much I love him, I won't be able to stop. So, I'll let the poem speak for itself.

Satan

My head on your lap

as I listen to you read to me.

The low rumble of your voice,

as peaceful and warm

as a cup of tea

on a rainy day.

Eyes like crystals

in the caves of

Sterkfontein.

That shimmer like gems.

Like the water in the stream.

Like emeralds.

Like the leaves and moss

of a forest, reflecting the rays

of the sun.

A sun that shines almost

as bright as your hair.

They say that the eyes

are the windows to the soul.

Maybe your soul

is my forest.

My canopy,

my safety.

A place for me to

be young, wild and free.

Let me get to know your

fauna and flora.

I could explore your trees

and the jewels within them

for the rest of my life.

I close my eyes

as I hear the fireplace

crackling in the background.

Snapping like the

ferocious wrath inside you.

The one that drives you to

improve on perfection every day

and inspires me to

be a better artist.

The same one

I fell so deeply and

hopelessly in love with.

I feel your soft, warm

hand on my cheek

and open my eyes

to see you looking at me.

With a face,

carved out of marble

and soft as a cloud.

So beautifully sculpted,

that it leaves me breathless.

I sigh contentedly and hopelessly

as I feel the red string pulling

on my heart again.

I take your arm

and hold your hand to my face.

"What am I going to do with you?"

I kiss your palm.

I guess I can't be helped

with they way you

make my heart race.

And I don't want to be.

I'd rather have your

wilderness consume whole.

@stn-tmblr thank you for inspiring me to start posting my poetry on my own blog❤️

@c4tan

[c4tan]

Satan

My head on your lap

as I listen to you read to me.

The low rumble of your voice,

as peaceful and warm

as a cup of tea

on a rainy day.

Eyes like crystals

in the caves of

Sterkfontein.

That shimmer like gems.

Like the water in the stream.

Like emeralds.

Like the leaves and moss

of a forest, reflecting the rays

of the sun.

A sun that shines almost

as bright as your hair.

They say that the eyes

are the windows to the soul.

Maybe your soul

is my forest.

My canopy,

my safety.

A place for me to

be young, wild and free.

Let me get to know your

fauna and flora.

I could explore your trees

and the jewels within them

for the rest of my life.

I close my eyes

as I hear the fireplace

crackling in the background.

Snapping like the

ferocious wrath inside you.

The one that drives you to

improve on perfection every day

and inspires me to

be a better artist.

The same one

I fell so deeply and

hopelessly in love with.

I feel your soft, warm

hand on my cheek

and open my eyes

to see you looking at me.

With a face,

carved out of marble

and soft as a cloud.

So beautifully sculpted,

that it leaves me breathless.

I sigh contentedly and hopelessly

as I feel the red string pulling

on my heart again.

I take your arm

and hold your hand to my face.

"What am I going to do with you?"

I kiss your palm.

I guess I can't be helped

with they way you

make my heart race.

And I don't want to be.

I'd rather have your

wilderness consume whole.

- @poly-mc

Thank you very much for this wonderful poem, this is truly wonderful and I definitely enjoyed reading this! Thank you again!

[felipithecus]

"Little Foot"

A ~3.67 million year old Australopithecus fossil found in the Sterkfontein cave system of South Africa. I swear it was squished like that when they found it 💀 -- Me - September 2021

[bloginetqscwdqwdcqwlfdqw]

The Educational Tourist Places in South Africa

South Africa is not only rich in natural beauty and wildlife but also boasts a diverse array of educational attractions that offer insights into its complex history, cultural heritage, and scientific achievements. Here are some educational tourist places in South Africa that are worth exploring:

You can read Top Tourist Attractions in Africa That You Have to See with Your Own Eyes in the following article

Robben Island Museum: A Lesson in South African History

Robben Island, located off the coast of Cape Town, is synonymous with the struggle against apartheid. The Robben Island Museum offers guided tours conducted by former political prisoners, providing a poignant insight into South Africa's political history and the incarceration of Nelson Mandela.

Apartheid Museum: Understanding South Africa's Past

Located in Johannesburg, the Apartheid Museum chronicles the rise and fall of apartheid through multimedia exhibits, artifacts, and personal accounts. Visitors can explore the apartheid era, its impact on South African society, and the country's journey to democracy.

Cradle of Humankind: Exploring Human Evolution

The Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage Site near Johannesburg, is renowned for its complex of limestone caves that have yielded some of the world's oldest hominid fossils. Visitors can tour the Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng Visitor Centre to learn about human evolution and paleoanthropology.

South African Museum, Cape Town: Natural History Exhibits

The South African Museum in Cape Town houses extensive collections of fossils, minerals, and artifacts that showcase the natural history of South Africa and the broader African continent. Exhibits cover topics ranging from ancient civilizations to biodiversity and environmental conservation.

Hector Pieterson Museum: Commemorating the Soweto Uprising

The Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto, Johannesburg, commemorates the Soweto Uprising of 1976, a pivotal moment in the anti-apartheid struggle. Named after a 12-year-old boy killed during the protests, the museum explores the events leading to the uprising and its impact on South African society.

District Six Museum: Reflecting on Forced Removals

The District Six Museum in Cape Town documents the forced removals of more than 60,000 residents from the multicultural District Six neighborhood during apartheid. Through oral histories, photographs, and personal belongings, the museum preserves the memories of this vibrant community and highlights the ongoing struggle for justice.

Nelson Mandela Capture Site: History of Mandela's Arrest

Located near Howick in KwaZulu-Natal, the Nelson Mandela Capture Site commemorates the arrest of Nelson Mandela in 1962. A sculpture marks the spot where Mandela was captured, and visitors can learn about his life, activism, and legacy through interactive exhibits.

Freedom Park, Pretoria: Symbol of South Africa's Struggle

Freedom Park in Pretoria is both a memorial and a museum that honors South Africa's diverse cultural heritage and pays tribute to those who fought for freedom and democracy. The park features various monuments, gardens, and exhibitions that explore South Africa's history from pre-colonial times to the present day.

Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome, Cape Town: Astronomy Education

The Iziko Planetarium and Digital Dome in Cape Town offers immersive astronomy shows and educational programs that explore the wonders of the universe. Visitors can enjoy virtual journeys through space, learn about celestial phenomena, and participate in interactive workshops.

University of Cape Town Botanical Garden: Botanical and Environmental Studies

The University of Cape Town Botanical Garden is a living laboratory for botanical research and environmental education. Located on the slopes of Table Mountain, the garden showcases a diverse collection of indigenous plants, including rare and endangered species. Visitors can explore themed gardens, learn about plant conservation efforts, and enjoy guided tours.

These educational tourist places in South Africa offer valuable insights into the country's history, culture, and scientific achievements. Whether you're interested in apartheid history, human evolution, natural history, or astronomy, South Africa has much to offer in terms of educational exploration and discovery.

[canawaystravelsblog]

African Safari Destination

The attractions cover Johannesburg surrounding and Pretoria, Gold Reef City and Soweto, Cradle of Humankind, and Sterkfontein Cave. Explore safari at Pilanesberg and, Lion and Safari Park with a touch of cultural experience at Lesedi Cultural Village, escape to Sun City for leisure with our affordable packages. Now make your holiday packages with us.

African Safari Destination

[richard8016]

[archaeologicalnews]

A forgotten settlement in the Cradle of Humankind adds a note to southern African history

About 50km outside South Africa's biggest city, Johannesburg, lies one of the most important sites in human prehistory: the Cradle of Humankind. Here, at sites like the Sterkfontein Caves, Swartkrans, Drimolen and Kromdraai, researchers have unearthed amazing fossil evidence from the Plio-Pleistocene (the last five million years). It is especially famous for the discovery of fossilized hominin—ancient human—remains.

But there is a more recent and largely neglected layer to the landscape's history. My colleagues and I set out to investigate some archaeological traces found in part of the Cradle of Humankind. We focused on a stone-walled structure on a hill known as Driefontein; the name also given to the site we studied.

Our findings suggest that the Driefontein stone-walled structure was a residential area. It appears similar to settlements found elsewhere in South Africa's North West province and parts of Botswana dating to between AD 1450 and 1700, though certain features possibly suggest a later date. Read more.

[loneberry]

The Sterkfontein Cave System: Our Collective Dream Machine

[Excerpts transcribed directly from journal. The poetic momentum picks up toward the end…]

The next day I was set on going to the Cradle of Humankind [outside of Joburg, South Africa]. On the way to the site we stopped by the Rosebank mall so Lily could get a new e-cig. I stayed in the car and finished reading the Sixth Extinction. Eventually we made it to the Sterkfontein Caves, in time for the 2 PM tour.

The tour was decent, the guide was knowledgeable. she told us about the discovery of Littlefoot and Mrs. Ples. it is hypothesized that Littlefoot likely died by falling into the cave, perhaps while running away from a predator. the entrance of the caves would have been hard to spot because wild olive trees grow around the openings of dolomitic caves. sometime 2.5 million years ago Littlefoot vanished into a vast Darkness. his remains calcified. the shape of his feet indicate that Littlefoot probably lived in trees. the fossils reveal these old hominid species did not dwell in caves, nor did they use controlled fire, though the earliest evidence of a fire-wielding hominid was discovered in the same cave system, dating back to around 1 million years ago. 

Entering the Sterkfontein Caves through a cunt-crack in the earth: the hominid’s collective oneiro-womb—repository of a precious ancient record

what a thrill it was to learn all this! the path to the cave was line with stones that depicted the timeline of the universe, Earth and the history of our species. we entered the cave through a fissure line with wild olive trees. on the descent there was a caged area where Littlefoot had been discovered. the path through the cave was well-lit but at one point during the tour the guide turned the lights off to give us a sense of how dark the interior is. the first major chamber was cathedral-like. the guide shined her light on various highlights: elegant stalactites and stalagmites, glittering crystal deposits in the wall, some hidden rock formations that looked like the three wise Kings, another of Mary and her baby, a lone bat that chills near the area just beyond the small crawlspace… 

Is this lone bat solitary or gregarious? I can’t tell. It must like humans though…

she told us about the water  about how the water level had risen from heavy rainfall,  pointed out a fence now underwater and told us a story of a young diver from Wits University who died tragically while exploring the cave in the 80s. He had only been married for three months. 

it was Lily’s first time in a cave so she was mystified by the beauty of it all.

July 10 more days have passed, look how far behind I’m falling. What can I do but continue where I left off? While touring the caves it became clear to me that the Maropeng museum might be worth seeing. I raised the possibility of asking someone for a ride to Lily. She said "if you want to ask, okay." I wasn’t shy about these things, as I was an experienced hitchhiker and had hitched rides as recently as last summer (in Iceland). A middle-aged blonde white woman asked me who I was and where I was from. She said she and her husband are South African, but that she lives with her family in Dubai. I looked at the two teenage blonde girls. Twins? No, they responded. I asked the mother if they had plans to go to Maropeng after the tour. "Yes, do you need a lift?” “Yeah, me and my friend Lily [points] want to go, but our driver isn’t coming until later.” The husband said there wasn’t enough room, but the daughters responded that we could squeeze into the backseat of the car. I stayed close to the family for the rest of the walk to secure our ride. 

After the tour there was the option to walk around a path and look at the important paleo-anthropological sites. We walked around the sites with the family then squeezed into their car. On the 7km drive exchanged details about our lives. They seemed somewhat racist to me, called Mandela “insane” and were eager to hear gossip about his wayward grandson, who Lily and I mentioned we had fortuitously met the night before. I asked the family what living in Dubai was like. The daughters spoke of ostentatious wealth, how one of their friends had hired a private jet to vacation in Greece. 

At the museum I was thrilled to discover that the first exhibit was about the 2013 discovery of Homo naledi in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star cave. A newspaper story about the discovery – which mentioned an ad for “tiny spelunkers” – had inspired the title of my my book of dream poems: Tiny Spelunker of the Oneiro-Womb. there was a documentary about the discovery, text consisting of speculation about the behavior of Homo naledi. Were the bodies of the dead disposed of intentionally, thus making homo naledi capable of “ritual” behavior, previously believed to be exclusive to Homo sapiens? 

There was a cut out life-sized image of the team of six “underground astronauts” – Lily took a photo of me posing with them:

A team of UNDERGROUND ASTRONAUTS meeting their missing 7th TINY SPELUNKER / these woman recovered HOMO NALEDI bones in the CHAMBER OF STARS

A sense of euphoria washed over me while contemplating my life. 

The dream of being trapped in Qatar, which I dreamed six months before waiting there for my layover, how strange. 

The newspaper story I read that inspired the title of my book, how I never dreamed I would see the cave system where the bones of Homo naledi were discovered, how the story had set my imagination alight – a new hominin species named after stars ("naledi” means “star” in the Sotho-Tswana languages). How quickly our knowledge of the past is being revised! the museum still said Homo sapiens are 200,000 years old, that we all go back to a single point of origin in East Africa (present-day Ethiopia) – but the recent discovery of 300,000 years-old Homo sapien fossils in Morocco rewrites this narrative.

This info is already outdated!

In the museum there was a foam cutout of the “Superman crawl” – the small passageway the tiny spelunkers had to pass through to retrieve the remains of Homo naledi. 

How strange, all around us: these crawlspaces created by nature. 

Everything must be aligned perfectly for fossilization to occur. Inside the dolomitic womb a fleeting being is transmogrified into a permanent record. 

These caves – this cave system – is a dream machine. 

It eternalizes forms to ignite our imagination. 

for millions of years, wayward hominids have drifted into this dream machine. 

Which links to the history of our species have been lost forever? 

How eerie it was to see a painting of what scientists believe a Homo naledi band looked like while dumping the corpse of a dead kin into the cave.

2.5 million years ago the star children disposed of dead bodies in the cave as a ritualistic behavior, a possible sign of symbolic thought

At what point did our species become aware of death? 

Do the monkeys know they will die? What does it mean to them?

At what point did our species begin to mourn?

Oh how I wish I were there when the first word was uttered!

 At what point did grunt become word?

Does life always evolve towards intelligence?

I didn’t want to miss anything. Everything I’d been reading and thinking about converged on that moment – the timeline of life. The explosion of life when the angiosperms [flowering plants] arrived on the scene. The history of the five mass extinctions, the last, during the Cretaceous period, which wiped out the dinosaurs. Had the dinosaurs lived, we probably would’ve wiped them out too, like the other megafauna inhabiting the continents before we arrived. 

In one part of the exhibit there was an interactive display where you could call extinct animals. The landline telephone: already a technology going extinct. In the center of the display was a rotating life-like dodo bird. It was the first extinct animal I called. The phone rang a few times. Impatient, I hung up. Was this a joke? You call the dodo, no answer, she is gone. No, I just hadn’t waited long enough. I called again. 

The dodo answered. It was not a dodo at all, but the wispy voice of a woman speaking as the dodo. She narrated, in the first person, the dodo’s rise and fall, and concluded with the haunting phrase “… as dead as a dodo. Extinction is forever.”

Then I remember Cixous’s Hyperdream – which is so much about the technology of the landline telephone, a kind of psychic umbilical cord that connected her to Derrida. When JD died, the phone line was cut.

But what is the dream of the dead Beloved?

It was as though…

A line had been reestablished.

Extinction is not death but the death of a form

A form that has outgrown the world.

In the sixth extinction: a world altered by humans.

Humans still dream of the forms they have wiped out.

This exhibit is a dream of lost forms, from the earliest hominids to the dodo.

What holiness is left, a race to the end some saw it coming, some tried to save the golden tree frogs and disease-mottled bats, but everywhere we went, extinction followed. How or why, we don’t know. It wasn’t capitalism – it wasn’t a system external to and created by humans, it was us. Even our closest relatives – all the other hominin species – we drove to extinction. 

The Neanderthal lives inside me. From the beginning, I was hybrid.

What is there to say about the museum? I could talk about all the things I learned, answers to my questions on why or how we became bipedal – or how we grew language – but I would never make it to the present moment.

It was 5 PM. We were leaving the museum. I was looking out on the horizon. The sun was setting, the sky was cloudy but there was a hole in the clouds, light was seeping through, it looked as though God was shining her golden rays on the Cradle of Humankind. Ecstasy! 

God was illuminating the land beneath which lies the most precious of all records.

my heart aches with awareness of the limits of my knowledge – all I will never know, I want to know it all but more than wanting to know it all I want to have been there. I want to have seen the forms I will never see except in the dream-reconstruction. All reconstruction is a dream. I want to know the holy moment when oblivion swallowed our ancestors forever. It took millions of years to get from Littlefoot to here, to grow the knowledge and technology to dig up, reconstruct and date these remains.

What is dead is inside me.

Littlefoot with your thumb-like big toe, swinging in the trees – I am you, from the future! Your expired form lives inside me! How much of you there is in me, I do not know. Perhaps they have not sequenced your genome yet, like they have the Neanderthal.

Sunrays from heaven–       You light the land! Our dream machine!       The hominid’s collective oneiro-womb!

The mind thinks space,      I see, I saw, my mind grew. It kept growing.

All we will never know –      auto-luminous corals in deepwater zones.

How terrible, how marvelous – the first seafaring humans setting sail, not knowing where and arriving at what we now call Australia, wiping out the marsupial megafauna [already, new fossils have revised this history!]. 

This mad species we call Homo sapiens, with its lust to go beyond, always beyond.

Its lust to discover in tandem with its death drive.

To push, and push.     Brains and their appendages. Digging to know itself–     like psychoanalysis on the scale of our species.

1 million years ago we learned how to use fire.      We imagine this gave our ancestors more time to think, and over the course of a million years the sum total of that intense cogitation brought us here, to smartphones and tumblr blog posts.

Imagine all the forms sacrificed to get to this form–       do I even deserve it? To live. Imperfect forms died. We killed them. I am the sum of all those deaths.

Life Life exploding–they say it took 10 billion years, from the birth of the universe, to arrive at life on Earth.

And all that time…was the universe readying itself–without knowing?

My head hurts–it all had to be just right. 

Why did I get this chance? 

Circle back to the light: The Cradle of Humankind illuminated by God’s spotlight

What did I do to deserve this chance to be born     to see the resting place of our early ancestors to see the fynbos biome    and those marvelous ancient angiosperms–their fuzz and wiry tentacles–the defense mechanisms of living alien plants from another time.

Believe me, universe, when I say I take none of it for granted This chance to love           To live To witness these endemic plant species, which grow nowhere else on the planet.          None of it has been lost on me.

Beauties of the fynbos bioregion

Now I weep just thinking how improbable it was that I should be born–that I could be given this chance to see and learn.

You are alive.

You can’t be aware of everything.

You read. You forget. Dream. Forget your dreams.

Life…& on….& on…

*

We left. The sun was setting. Suddenly I was sleepy. When we got home I fell asleep. Was I incubating what I had just seen–in a dream?

[fumpkins]

South African fossils may rewrite history of human evolution

Ancient human-like fossils in South Africa may be more than a million years older than previously thought, which raises the odds that the species they came from gave rise to humans, a new study finds.

The new date could rewrite a few key stages in the history of human evolution. That’s because the finding suggests these fossils belong to a species that may predate the iconic 3.2-million-year-old “Lucy” fossil. Lucy’s species was long thought to potentially have been the prime contender for the direct ancestor of humans.

Homo sapiens is the only surviving member of the human lineage, the genus Homo. Previous research suggested that the leading candidate for the precursors of Homo may be the genus Australopithecus, which lived about 4.1 million to 2.9 million years ago. 

Australopithecus, which means “southern ape,” includes Lucy’s species, Australopithecus afarensis. At the time of Lucy’s discovery in Ethiopia in 1974, her bones were the world’s oldest and most complete skeleton of an ancient hominin, the group that includes humans and the extinct species more closely related to humans than any other animal, according to Nature (opens in new tab).

The most abundant sources of Australopithecus fossils discovered to date are the Sterkfontein Caves in South Africa, which are part of a site named the Cradle of Humankind. Sterkfontein became famous when the first known adult Australopithecus was discovered there, in 1936. Over the decades, scientists have found hundreds of hominin fossils at Sterkfontein, which are usually classified as members of the species Australopithecus africanus.

However, previous research suggested that the bones at Sterkfontein were only 2.1 million to 2.6 million years old. In contrast, the oldest known Homo fossils, unearthed in Ethiopia, date back about 2.8 million years. This suggested that the Sterkfontein Australopithecus species could not have been the direct ancestors of Homo. 

Instead, researchers have often proposed that the ancestors of the human lineage were Australopithecus species in East Africa, such as Lucy’s, A. afarensis, and that South Africa’s A. africanus descended from East Africa’s A. afarensis.

Female Australopithecus Sts 71, discovered in 1947 from Member 4 at Sterkfontein, South Africa and newly dated to 3.4 million to 3.6 million years. (Image credit: Jason L. Heaton, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama)

(opens in new tab)

Still, there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the ages of the fossils at Sterkfontein. For example, the nearly complete skeleton known as Little Foot found there is estimated to be 3.67 million years old, according to research from Darryl Granger, a geochronologist at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana, and his colleagues.

In the new study, Granger and his colleagues sought new estimates of the ages of the other hominin fossils at Sterkfontein. They found that those bones may actually be about 3.4 million to 3.7 million years old. This makes them older than Lucy and opens the possibility that Homo could have evolved from the Australopithecus species of South Africa, and not East Africa as long thought.

Understanding the dates of the fossils at Sterkfontein can be tricky. Normally, scientists estimate the ages of fossils by analyzing the layers in which they are found; the deeper a layer is, the older it may be. However, the complex system of caves at Sterkfontein could lead older deposits to get mixed with younger material, complicating attempts to date them.

Other strategies for dating the Australopithecus specimens in Sterkfontein include examining the bones of other animals, such as horses unearthed around the hominin fossils, or the flowstone linked with the fossil layers — thin sheets of rock deposited from flowing water found all along the walls and floors of caves. However, bones can shift within caves during flooding, and young flowstone can be deposited in old sediment, meaning the dates derived from these methods could be incorrect.

One potentially more accurate method involves dating the actual rocks in which the fossils were found. In the new study, researchers analyzed the concrete-like matrix in which the fossils are embedded, called breccia.

The scientists analyzed so-called cosmogenic nuclides within the rocks. These are extremely rare versions of elements, or isotopes, produced by cosmic rays — high-energy particles that constantly bombard Earth from outer space. Each isotope of an element has a different number of neutrons in its atomic nucleus — for example, aluminum-26 has one less neutron within its nucleus than regular aluminum.

“Mrs. Ples” (Sts 5), discovered at Sterkfontein, South Africa in 1947, now shown to be contemporaneous with Lucy’s species in East Africa. (Image credit: Jason L. Heaton, Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Alabama)

(opens in new tab)

Aluminum-26 forms when a rock containing quartz is exposed at the surface, but not after it has been deeply buried in a cave. As such, the researchers can date cave sediments, and the fossils within them, by measuring levels of aluminum-26 in tandem with another cosmogenic nuclide, beryllium-10.

“It was surprising to me at first that the new ages of 3.4 to 3.6 million years were so close [in age] to the older sediments,” Granger told Live Science. “What this says is that all of the Australopithecus fossils at Sterkfontein fall into a fairly narrow time range, and in a particular time when there was a lot of diversification of hominins in East Africa as well. This points to an early connection between hominins in East Africa and South Africa.”

These new findings, which show A. africanus is at least as old as, if not older than, A. afarensis, may rule out the idea that A. africanus descended from A. afarensis. And in fact, A. africanus possesses a more primitive ape-like skull and facial features than A. afarensis, paleoanthropologist Yohannes Haile-Selassie, director of Arizona State University’s Institute of Human Origins, who did not take part in this research, told Live Science. Instead, he suggested A. africanus and A. afarensis may be sister species, descended from an older common ancestor such as 3.8-million-year-old A. anamensis, which Haile-Selassie helped unearth in Ethiopia in 2016.

Another implication of the new work is that “this older age allows more time for the South African species to evolve into later hominins,” Granger said. This could include Homo. “We don’t know that this happened for sure, but it opens a window of possibility.”

John Hawks, a paleoanthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who did not participate in this study, noted the new cosmogenic technique will likely not end the controversy of the Sterkfontein fossils’ ages.

“This is a case where the different teams really need to get together and agree on what the geology of the site is telling us,” Hawks told Live Science. “I think this paper is a first step in that process, but it will take a lot of work to get these different scientists to agree on what they are seeing.”

For example, scientists who want to solve the puzzle of the ages of these bones may take part in double-blind experiments involving “different groups of researchers examining the same samples, without knowing where they are from until they report their results,” Hawks said. “Otherwise, there is too much potential for researchers to choose samples and methods that reinforce their own ideas.”

The scientists detailed their findings June 27 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (opens in new tab).

Originally published on Live Science.

New post published on: https://livescience.tech/2022/07/04/south-african-fossils-may-rewrite-history-of-human-evolution/

[heritage26c]

HIDDEN GEMS IN SOUTH AFRICA

South is well-known for its beautiful landscapes, wildlife, open land, art, history, and the great culture experience. Not forgetting its eccentric corners and amazing adventures.

Here is a list of places you can visit for adventure, to learn more about the history of this beautiful country, or to get a feel of the amazing landscapes that are not so popular.

1. Augrabies Falls National Park

This beautiful gem is hidden in the Northern Cape Province, which is perfect for hiking and camping. The highlight of this amazing place is the Orange River’s magnificent Augrabies Falls, 60m high and astonishing. 

Things to do:

·       See the Moon Rock and enjoy the panoramic views of the Martian-like landscape.

·       The Kokerboom, also known the Quiver Tree

·       Hike

·       Wildlife

o   This beautiful gem is also wheelchair-accessible, to watch the stars on a moonless night.

.2. Northcliff, Hill Gauteng

This is a great opportunity to view the landscape of Johannesburg from a 360 degrees angle. Northcliff Hill is an iconic landmark of Johannesburg, with its waters tower. The best time to take this hike, is on an afternoon when it is quiet, so you can be able to enjoy the scenery and take in the moment. If you do not feel like taking the exercise, you can also drive up to this amazing viewpoint.

Northcliff Hill is not just a beautiful view- archaeologists have found Stone Age and Iron sites here. 

Things to do:

·       Set up the perfect, romantic picnic

·       Cycling up the hill

·       Hike

3. Cradle of Humankind Heritage Site

This beautiful site is less than an hour drive from Johannesburg, it is near the Magaliesberg Mountain Ranges.

Things to do:

·       Visit the Sterkfontein Caves

·       Visit the Maropeng exhibition center

o   This is housed in a Tumulus that allows visitors to sail in an underground boat

·       Camping

4. Chinsta

Do you love surfing? Is it something you have been dying to try out? Chinsta Beach is for you! This beautiful coast is situated in the Eastern Cape, between miles of the Wild Coast forest and beach.

Things to do:

·       Surf!

·       Horse riding

·       Mountain biking

·       Take a tour on a big four safari

5. Stanford

A laid back, amazing location in the Western Cape near Hermanus. It has Kleinriver passing through, with amazing mountains as its view. This location has lovely restaurants, antique stores to see and coffee shops to have dates at.

Things to do:

·       Picnic by the river

·       Go for wine tasting at Stanford wines

·       Amazing accommodation

With all these amazing hidden gems, there is a lot more South Africa is hiding. But which place are you exploring first?

P.S all pictures are from the internet. 

[historical-nonfiction]

Analysis of Hominin Teeth Tells Us About Prehistoric Breastfeeding Practices

Analysis of growth rings in Australopithecus africanus teeth may tell us about prehistoric hominin's breastfeeding habits. A recent analysis looked at four teeth, recovered from South Africa’s Sterkfontein Cave, belonged to two individuals who lived between 2.6 and 2.1 million years ago. The results suggest that they exclusively breastfed for the first six to nine months of life.

Although other foods were added around the 1st birthday, milk intake also ramped up again each year, over a period of four or five years. Why this yearly return to breastmilk? Perhaps during times of food scarcity, mothers would return to breastfeeding, to ensure their children got enough to eat.

The analysis found an additional piece of evidence suggesting that breastmilk was a starvation-food used to keep young children nourished. Levels of lithium in the teeth rose right before the period of breastfeeding began each year. Such a distinctive biological time-stamp connected to the later-life breastfeeding suggests that the breastfeeding began again each year in the same season, likely corresponding to the time of year when food was scarcest. One can speculate that lithium was high in a specific food source which became available only during a certain season each year (like apples in autumn) -- or which Australopithecus africanus only resorted to when other foods were scarce (like tree bark in winter).

[earthstory]

The Cradle of Humankind

Located 65 Km south west of South Africa’s capital city, Pretoria, is The Cradle of Humankind. The site includes the Sterkfontein Caves, where the famous 2.3 million year old fossil “Mrs. Ples” was discovered. The discovery was made by Dr Robert Broom and John T Robinson. Prior to 2010, the Sterkfontein Caves produced over 30% of hominid fossils ever found.

Including the Sterkfontein Caves and a massive complex of limestone caves, the site currently occupies over 45 000 hectares. There are close to 40 fossil-bearing caves across the site.

A massive number of homonin fossils have thus far been excavated from the many sites comprising the Cradle of Humankind, including some of the oldest ever discovered. A few of these fossils have been found to be almost 3.5 million years old.

It is theorized that hominins may have lived all across the African continent, but their fossils can only be found where the conditions for fossil formation are optimal. The hominin fossils found in dolomitic caves at the Cradle are often enclosed in a blend of limestone and breccia.

hominid – “group consisting of all modern and extinct Great Apes”

hominin- “the group consisting of modern humans, extinct human species and all our immediate ancestors”

Breccia – clastic sedimentary rocks made up of angular fragments. Often there are gaps between the angular fragments. These gaps are filled with a medium consisting of smaller particles that binds the rock together.

Renesh T

Image Source:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copy-of.mrs-ples-maropeng.jpg

References/Further Reading:

Kashmira Raghu BSc. Hons. MSc http://bit.ly/1lyU3b6 http://bit.ly/1IpOH9d http://bbc.in/1LSB6Nd http://bit.ly/1EN4f5U http://bit.ly/19hfUyi http://bit.ly/1xeqCAZ

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/tag/rising-star-expedition/

[travelnerdconfessions]

The great cats of Africa

The adult lion pic was snapped in Thornybush National Park in South Africa (not a part of Kruger National Park).  The leopard was spotted in the Okavango Delta in Botswana.   And both the white lion cub and cheetah were found in a game preserve near the Sterkfontein Caves about 2 hrs outside of Johannesburg.