Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein and Environs

Sterkfontein ('strong fountain') in South Africa is the richest site in the world for fossils of early hominids. Located near the town of Krugersdorp, the fossil site of Sterkfontein, as well as the nearby sites of Swartkrans and Kromdraai, present an awesome record of the stages in the emergence and evolution of humanity over the past 3.5 million years.

The site was first discovered in the late 1890s by limestone miners. Sterkfontein was almost immediately brought to the attention of scientists, but serious excavation only began in 1936. Excavations yielded the first adult Australopithecine within the first year of digging. Since then the site has yielded the remains of more than 500 hominids.

Swartkrans is part of a broad collection of sites that make up the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Evidence of controlled fire at Swartkrans is dated as being up to 1 million years old; the second-oldest record of fire use on Earth.

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