Treasure Caves

摘要

Genetic evidence suggests that modern human history began in southern Africa, a region also rich in ancient hominid diversity. South Africa's Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site has made substantial contributions to the fossil record of these hominids. First inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1999, the Cradle of Humankind consists of 15 major fossil sites, encompassing hundreds of caves. The 470-km2 core region, in the Witwa-tersrand basin about an hour's drive northwest of Johannesburg, includes the well-known sites Sterkfontein, Swart-krans, Kromdraai, and Malapa as well as the visitor center at Maropeng. Since its establishment, the Cradle of Humankind complex has been expanded to include two more distant components, each around 300 km from the core: the Taung skull site and the Makapan Valley.