Palaeo Tours-Cradle of Humankind

“Come and Discover Your Ancestors” Paleo-anthropological tours under the guidance of PhD-students of the University of the Witwatersrand to the active excavations in the Sterkfontein valley, a world heritage site. While visiting Gauteng, why not spend time with us on an exciting and unique adventure into our own distant past? PALAEO-TOURS offers a rare opportunity to tour some of the world’s most famous and richest pre-human fossil sites. During the last century some of the rarest and most exciting fossils of our human ancestors have been found only 45 km minutes from Johannesburg in the Sterkfontein Valley. In December 1999, the valley was declared a World Heritage Site thus celebrating and protecting the Cradle of Humankind. Come tour these sites with our Palaeo-Anthropologists and gain a glimpse into the world of your ancestors. Our tour will provide you with an experience completely different from any you have ever had, an experience that you will not forget, an experience that very few countries in the world are able to offer.
South Africa is famous for being home to 40 percent of the world’s hominid fossils (which means they belong to our human family tree). These fossils are as old as 3.5 million years and come from a time when our earliest human ancestors were roaming the African savannah.
During the guided tour you will be given the privilege of seeing some of the caves, where for decades fossil hunters have extracted human fossilised bone, pieces so unique that they have changed the way the world thinks about human evolution. You will be given the chance to see these unique fossils, to learn how bone fossilises against substantial odds and to listen to some of the theories of how our ancestors lived and died. The following sites will be visited:
	Sterkfontein
	This world-renowned site is one of the richest and most prolific fossil sites in the world. The fossils found from Sterkfontein as early as 1936 were instrumental in proving that Africa was the Cradle of Humankind. It boasts such impressive finds as the famous Mr. Ples (originally believed to be Mrs. Ples), the first complete Australopithecus africanus skull found in 1947, and ‘Little Foot’, part of a complete skeleton that came to light in 1999. Tours are conducted of both the public caves and the private fossil site. Contact and Bookings
	Swartkrans
	This site is the second richest fossil hominid site in southern Africa, and it has yielded the largest sample of Australopithecus robustus. Among some of its notable finds are the first evidence for the co-existence of two hominid species living at the same time and the earliest evidence for the use of fire in the world. Contact and Bookings
	Drimolen
	This site was only discovered in 1992 and is already the third richest hominid site in southern Africa. On the 26th of April 2000, the most complete female A. robustus skull along with a complete male jaw made world headlines. This site has already unearthed 79 hominid fossils, a wealth of faunal remains and some fossil Homo babies. As the site being excavated all year round, it provides an excellent opportunity to see an excavation in progress. Contact and Bookings
	Prices on Request

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