South Africa is well known as the Cradle of Mankind and new evidence has emerged to show that it may also be the place where modern homo sapiens took some of their first steps.
The latest archaeological discovery of hominin tracks was made near Witsand, in the Western Cape Province, highlighting the important role of the Western Cape in the heritage of South Africa. This fascinating find is yet another reason to include this beguiling province in your southern African safari.
Making Tracks
The amazing discovery was made early this year by Dr Helm of Canada, who was on vacation in South Africa at the time. As a member of a previous team which studied hominin tracks in the area, Dr Helm is no stranger to archaeological discoveries.
This finding was unusual in that it had avoided detection before. Dr Helm discovered the tracks when he glanced upward during his cave explorations. Here he found evidence of a Pleistocene walk along the magnificent Southern African shoreline, estimated to have taken place over 90 000 years ago.
While it appears that these early humans may have been dancing on the ceiling, truth is that the tracks have become inverted over time. The site is believed to have been about 2km inland. About 40 footfalls were fossilized over time and as the ocean crept inland, and carved out caves along the shore, the underside of the footprints became visible.
The footprints vary in size from 17 to 23cm long and are believed to belong to modern homo sapiens. However, they are within the size range for homo naledi, the same extinct species that is believed to have inhabited South Africa’s Cradle of Mankind World Heritage site in Maropeng, Johannesburg. Further investigations are under way to find out more about these fossilized footprints and what they mean for the documented history of South Africa.
Discover More
These late Pleistocene Hominin tracks along the Cape South Coast are not the only ancient attraction that the Western Cape has to offer. While on your southern African safari, you can also see amazing archaeological discoveries near Pinnacle Point Golf Estate close to Mossel Bay, the West Coast Fossil Park and Elandsfontein Private Nature Reserve near Langebaan, and in the Karoo National Park outside Graaff Reinet.
Get in touch to find out how you we can arrange your trip back in time during your Southern African safari.
