Cradle of Humankind
We flew out early in the morning from Cape Town to Johannesburg. As soon as we landed, we got a car and headed to the Cradle of Humankind where we learned a lot about humans history on this earth and saw the caves where archaeologists found the oldest human remains. It was a lot different than any other caves that Katherine and I have been to. Most caves we go to in the States are about the features in the caves, where this tour was all about the fossils found in the cave. The other difference is most caves tell you to strictly not touch anything and stay on the path, but this cave had very little rules on what you could touch, which is good because I like touching things.
Cradle of Humankind
Hand
Homo naledi
The sign tells you what's in this photo, but on the left is the curved hand of the Homo maledi compared to the modern human hand on the right.
Jaw Bone
This is the jaw from the skeleton that is named "Neo", which means "gift" in Setswana. It's part of the most complete 131 fossils from the Raising Star Cave.
15+ Individuals
This showcase contains remains from at least 15 individuals and has approximately one third of the 1700+ fossils of the Homo naledi from the Dinaledi Chamber.
Lucy
This is Lucy, one of the most well known hominid skeleton. Lucy was discovered in 1979 in Ethiopia by Dr. Donald Johnson and his team. Lusy is 3.2 million years old.
Homo Heidelbergensis
Maropeng,Homo heidelbergensis
Lights
The Maropeng museum was filled with a lot of exhibits, including this one. I don't remember what the lights were for, I just thought they were cool.
Paranthropus Boisei Skull
Katherine and I ventured over to the Sterkfontein Caves where they had some more cool skulls and skeletons before you went into the caves.
PPE For Life
Yep, that's my wife!
Into the Cave We Go!
Caves
Inside the cave it was pretty dark, so I didn't get many photos at all, but here are a few.
Uncharted Waters
No one has gone into these waters. There is no telling if there is a drop off somewhere and you could easily get lost in the darkness.
Low Ceilings
There were several places that we had to duck and crotch to get through the tour.
