The Sterkfontein Caves have been one of the most prolific palaeoanthropological sites in the world, since the discovery of the first ever adult Australopithecus by Robert Broom, 80 years ago this year. Since this incredible discovery, some of palaeoanthropology’s most famous finds have come from the Sterkfontein Caves, including Ms. Ples and Little Foot.
Sterkfontein remains the richest Australopithecus-bearing locality in the world and continues to yield remarkable specimens. The underground network of caves at the site extends over 5kms and the caves are filled with fossiliferous sediments that have been deposited underground over a period of more than 3.67 million years.
However, very few of these deep deposits have been systematically excavated and so remain largely unknown. The Milner Hall, where the four new hominin fossils were found, is one such chamber where several large deposits have been identified but never excavated.
The excavations that yielded these new hominin fossils were being conducted as part of a series of exploratory excavations away from the known hominin-bearing areas. Excavations in the Jacovec Cavern, Name Chamber and Milner Hall have been started under Dr Stratford’s direction. Each has yielded exciting new fossils that shed further light on the story of our evolution and life on the Sterkfontein hill more than two million years ago. Attached are some of the links about this exciting site. Including a YouTube video of the site and its artifacts.
http://www.archaeology.org/news/4144-160211-sterkfontein-caves-fossils
http://www.southafrica.info/travel/cultural/sterkfontein.htm#.Vr9DBeYt5eQ
