BRANCH NEWS from cradle to cave: a MINSA excursion

摘要

On the 3~(rd) of June 2006, a splendid Saturday morning, a group from MINSA was met by Professor Lee Berger at the Sterkfontein caves in the Cradle of Humankind, now a National Heritage site, covering approximately 48 000 ha. The area is not only rich in such fossils but also contains extraordinary biodiversity. Seasonal fires, typical of savanna, are characteristic of this area. The fossils are preserved in the dolomitic caves, of which there are over 100, the largest being a 3 km underground system. The dolomite has been dated at approximately 2.5 Ga on volcanic ash in the shales of the Timeball Hill Formation underlying the dolomite. Ancient bacteria are preserved in the dolomite as oolites and stromatolites.