<< Other Photo Pages >> Malapa - Cave or Rock Shelter in South Africa
Submitted by bat400 on Tuesday, 15 January 2013 Page Views: 6058
Natural PlacesSite Name: Malapa Alternative Name: Malapa Fossil Site, Cradle of HumankindCountry: South Africa
NOTE: This site is 60.15 km away from the location you searched for.
Type: Cave or Rock Shelter
Nearest Town: Johannesburg Nearest Village: Muldersdrift
Latitude: 25.88S Longitude: 27.840000E
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Located within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and the Malapa Nature Reserve.
According to palaeomagnetism and uranium-lead (U-Pb) dating, the remains were 2.0 Ma. At that time the site would have been an underground pool or spring, perhaps 15 m deep. Both animal and early humans were attracted to the water and appear to have either fallen in or were unable to get back out after a descent.
This is the type site for an early human ancestor called Australopithecus sediba (after the well or spring at the bottom of the cave). The species had long arms, short powerful hands, a very advanced pelvis and long legs capable of striding and possibly running like a human. The skeletons were found among the articulated skeletons of a animals: wild cats, antelopes and small mammels.
Note: Location given is very general for the site.
Source:
Australopithecus sediba: A New Species of Homo-Like Australopith from South Africa
Berger et at. (2010). Australopithecus sediba: A New Species of Homo-Like Australopith from South Africa. Science.
"Geological Setting and Age of Australopithecus sediba from Southern Africa".
"Geological Setting and Age of Australopithecus sediba from Southern Africa".
Note: Most complete pre-human skeleton found
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