Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa

The Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa are a serial World Heritage property that groups a number of limestone caves and karst sites with exceptionally rich fossil and archaeological deposits. The sites have produced hominid remains and associated fauna and artefacts crucial to studies of human origins.

Notable components such as Sterkfontein, Swartkrans and Kromdraai contain stratified deposits with fossils of early hominids and stone tools, providing a long and well-dated record of hominid evolution in southern Africa. The assemblages have been the subject of systematic palaeoanthropological research since the early 20th century.

Fossils and archaeological materials from these sites span the Plio-Pleistocene and include specimens that have been central to debates about Australopithecus and early Homo. Research has involved excavation, stratigraphic analysis and dating methods to establish the ages of deposits.

The sites lie within the Gauteng and North West provinces of South Africa, clustered to the northwest of Johannesburg in a karst landscape of dolomitic limestone caves and exposures.

• Key hominid fossil sites: Contains several cave and karst sites that have produced important hominid fossils and archaeological deposits dating to the early Pleistocene and Pliocene, contributing to understanding of human evolution.

What to See #

• Sterkfontein: Sterkfontein Caves, a limestone cave system noted for rich hominid fossil finds including multiple Australopithecus specimens recovered during 20th- and 21st-century excavations.
• Swartkrans and Kromdraai: Swartkrans and Kromdraai, fossil-bearing karst sites that have yielded hominid remains and stone tools spanning the Plio-Pleistocene.