There have been many famous people living in Johannesburg down the years, from Nelson Mandela to Paul Kruger, but the human history of the area goes back as far as any in the world. While the city was only founded in the 1880s with the discovery of the world’s biggest gold deposits, other excavations across the Gauteng region have revealed it to be perhaps the world’s richest treasure trove of prehistoric human fossils.
These distant ancestors can be visited by those temporarily swapping luxury hotels for caves, as the Maropeng Heritage Centre includes the Cradle of Mankind, a world heritage centre where you can meet Mrs Ples. It is not possible to have a chat with her, of course, with Mrs Ples is a famous pre-human skull, identifiable as female due to the lack of a bony eyebrow ridge. This fascinating specimen, believed to be 2.3 million years old, is one of numerous finds made in the Sterkfontein Caves at Maropeng. Others include ‘Little Foot’, a nearly complete skeleton dated around from around 4.2 million years ago.
The protected nature of the site means the excavations at Sterkfontein and other spots within its 47,000 hectares are protected in perpetuity, which means many more archaeological digs in the future may reveal more secrets. As well as looking at the specimens on display, visitors can also enjoy looking around the caves themselves. For visitors, this site is a fascinating one to go to, whether through a general fascination with anthropology, the methods of carbon dating or an interest in methods of excavation. The site is not just a place to find out about prehistoric fossils, however, with the site also containing over 100 restaurants and a number of places to hold business conferences.
Such a combination of modern amenities and ancient discovery makes Maropeng a fascinating place, one to wonder about what the lives of prehistoric people like Mrs Ples were like. A trip there will be an undoubted highlight of any trip to Johannesburg.
