The Taung Skull Fossil Site, Cradle of Mankind

This location is part of an old limestone quarry where in 1924 a worker famously uncovered what are considered to be the remains of one of the first hominini. Hominini are a sub group of the Hominae subfamily, and are considered the closest ancestors to man by paleoanthropologists.

The remains consisted of a well preserved baby hominin skull, which was later named Taung child. The remains were sent to Raymond Dart, an Australian anatomist and anthropologist. He later described the specimen as Australopithecus africanus. The finding was quite controversial when it was first discovered, but is now widely accepted by the scientific community.

Years went by until the site was investigated again by researchers. By then the site had been destroyed by the lime mining that was carried out in the area. Phillip Tobias and his collaborator Jeff McKee from the University of Witwatersrand, also worked on this site from 1989 to 1993. No more hominini remains were found by them, although plenty fossils of baboon were uncovered.

This provided a clearer picture of the Taun geology and taphonomy. Taphonomy is the science that studies the way organisms decay over time and the process of fossilization, and is vital for researchers when studying fossils.

In 1999 it was inscribed as a World Heritage Site. This site bears a truly unique testimony of a cultural tradition and civilization that has now disappeared. Nearby archaeological sites include the Makapan Valley, where you can see caves that still hold features and traces of human occupation that according to researchers date back to over 3 million years ago. Various hominini fossils, like the Paranthropus have been found in this site, and have been used to increase the understanding of their culture, and technological advances.

For instance, evidence has been found that seems to point to the use and "domestication" of fire from 1.8 to 1 million years ago. Visiting these sites opens a window to the past of our family of species and describes the interaction of these homininae with their natural environment. It is the responsibility of visitors to these sites to respect and protect these valuable World Heritage sites.