The Cradle of Humankind

South Africa has some of the most interesting archaeological sites, in particular for what concerns fossils of hominids. Remember the Origins Center at Wits.

I like the "Welcome Home" flag !

In the North-West of Johannesburg is a large area (about 55 000 hectares) called the Cradle of Humankind. It consists in many archaeological sites, the main one being Sterkfontein. It is about 1 hour drive from Johannesburg (depending on which side of the city you are, of course !), and for me it was the first time I was going alone out of Johannesburg (OK, I went to Soweto, but it's much closer !). "Armed" with my wreck-car, a GPS, a map, some fruits and my camera, I left around 8:30 in the morning.

Maropeng Museum:
The first site I went to is the Maropeng Museum, which has an exhibition about the evolution of the Human.

The entrance of the Maropeng Museum

They actually go from the apparition of life on Earth until today, but focusing of course on the evolution of the Homo-whatever to the modern Human.
The museum starts with a reconstitution of archaeological sites. Apparently, there are snakes, too.

Mrs Ples (it's a fake, though ;-) )

 The first Humans appeared in Africa:

Going down the ramp, back in time until the formation of the Earth:

Guess what this is ?

There are a lot of messages to make us aware that we are destroying the planet. This, put in perspective with the evolution of life and Humans until today, is striking.

In the main gallery, a lot of reproductions of skulls and hominids:

Some nice areas for children, so that they understand what makes Humans a "special" species: 

At the end of the gallery, an exhibition of original fossils:

Sterkfontein Caves:
A few kilometers away from the Maropeng Museum, are the Caves of Sterkfontein, where most of the famous South African fossils were discovered. It's a nice visit, though of course we don't really get to see any original fossils in the rocks and so on. The caves go quite deep (60m at maximum during the visit) and some parts are very narrow -- one almost has to crawl !
Unfortunately, taking pictures in a cave is not easy so I have no pictures, except that one from the exit:

and the near-by site where Mrs Ples was discovered:

The place where Mrs Ples was discovered

Messages of hope:
I noticed that here, you always feel how recent history is in this country. And in all museums, you have messages of hope or solidarity, etc. It is quite nice, actually, and it always reminds you where we come from.

Some footprints ...

 
Landscapes and roads:
Of course, I could enjoy the landscapes around these two sites. It is very different from anything I've seen, and not only because it was like 30 degrees and sunny in the middle of the winter. Everything is very, very dry, and I like the colors it makes, this kind of yellow of the dry herbs, the brown of the stones, the dark green of the few trees, the dark red of the land, and the light blue of the cloudless sky. Really nice.

Views from Maropeng:

  

 
Views from Sterkfontein:

Views from the road:
These pictures were taken as I was driving (I know, it's bad). Just to show that 1) it's almost desert, no cars around ! 2) better not to have to stop, as the road is really just a lane in the middle of the countryside, 3) in the outer parts of the city, there are residential areas, with the usual walls, electric fences, etc.

 

Some "funny" facts:
In the Maropeng Museum, a lot of things are made so kids can enjoy and learn. In particular, some quizzes, and I found that one particularly interesting, since to the question "what is bipedalism", the answers are 1) the ability to walk upright, symbolized by a man walking, or 2) the ability to talk, symbolized by a woman talking. A few hours later I was in Sterkfontein with a guide explaining that Mrs Ples (the hominid skull fossil found there) is believed to be a woman because of it's low brain volume ! (apparently it's half a joke, and a serious scientific argument, but I'm no specialist).
 

Playing with mirors ...

At the end of the Maropeng Museum, there is a counter of the world population. It's amazing how fast it grows.