By creating an account, I agree to the
Terms of service and Privacy policy
Choose your country and language:
Africa
Americas
Asia Pacific
Europe
HHumans have been around for about 200 000 years - a blip compared to the expansive existence of Earth - but to know where we're going in the next 200 000 years, we need to reflect on where we come from.
South Africa has a special place in this history of human ingenuity - we are home to the astounding Cradle of Humankind, its Sterkfontein Caves offering up glimpses into the dawn of Homo Sapiens with its world-famous fossil finds. But our history isn't just made up of bones and tool fragments. The way we eat, dress, talk and live our lives have helped shape the world today - our cultural history is just as important as our physical. To celebrate this facet of the human psyche, Wesgro teamed up with the Department of Economic Development and Tourism (DEDAT), the provincial Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport (DCAS) and the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site (WHS) to develop the Cradle of Human Culture route in the Western Cape.
Did You Know?
TThis floral kingdom is the smallest of the world (only 90,000 km2) but contains approximately 9,600 plants and flowers – and 7,000 of them appear nowhere else in the world. The area is a UNESCO World Heritage site.
TThe route will connect sites that have delivered us modern humans remnants of our early ancestors' culture and show how the story developed after starting in the Cradle of Humankind.
“We are hoping that the Cradle of Human Culture will become a tool for all South Africans to enjoy these beautiful sites, explore our common origins, dive into our past and understand what makes us humans," says the Director for Museums, Heritage and Geographical Names Services at DCAS, Mxolisi Dlamuka. "Through this journey, visitors to the Cradle of Human Culture will discover the enormous contribution that South Africa played in making us all humans."
“The Cradle of Humankind WHS celebrates the human journey, from our earliest beginnings - to the challenges of our present - to our uncertain future," comments Michael Worsnip, managing director of Maropeng. It celebrates human development, in every shape and form. It is wonderful indeed to now have established a new showcase for this diversity, complexity and unity of our species, in the newly established Cradle of Human Culture. It is possible that in our arts and crafts, beliefs and extraordinary ingenuity, we can start to uncover some of the defining characteristics of our species
Here are some of the sites that will feature on the route:
Blombos Cave
This archaeological site near De Hoop Nature Reserve, alongside Pinnacle Point and Diepkloof, are in the process of being nominated for WHS status for their preservation of the world's earliest evolution of modern human behaviour.
One of the biggest finds in this cave is a small stone marked with abstract designs - claimed to be the oldest-known example of human drawing from 73 000 years ago.
Pinnacle Point Site Complex
Near the south coast town of Mossel Bay, a series of caves have yielded the cultural remnants of Middle Stone Age humans that dwelt there between 170 000 and 40 000 years ago.
You can take a guided tour to the caves which is now situated on the Pinnacle Point Beach and Golf Resort.
Diepkloof Rock Shelter
This one is more inland near Elands Bay and is famous for its early evidence of humans using symbols, engraved on ostrich eggshells used to house water by our ancestors.
These patterns consisted of repetitions of motifs, proving that something was being communicated in a cultural context to the social group that used to live there.
West Coast Fossil Park
On the road to Langebaan, you can check out the remains of fearsome creatures that roamed the West Coast millions of years ago.
Besides learning more about the creatures that came before humans, you'll also get a chance to look for fossils - just like a real archaeologist.
Who to contact?
What to pack?
Related articles
South Africa on social media
Useful links
Explore
