Sterkfontein
Project
ID: 00000C632
Public
The caves and quarries at Sterkfontein, 50 km northwest of Johannesburg, are the richest <i>Australopithecus</i> -bearing site in Africa. Over 800 specimens have been recovered there since the 1936 discovery of the first adult <i>Australopithecus</i> . In particular, Member 4 contains abundant <i>Australopithecus</i> remains (including "Mrs Ples"), while Member 5 has yielded large Oldowan and Early Acheulean stone tool assemblages and hominin remains attributed to the genera <i>Homo</i> and <i>Paranthropus</i> . The Sterkfontein site is well-known for having yielded the iconic skull and associated skeleton of the “Little Foot” in Member 2. More recently, additional hominin remains were reported from the nearby Jacovec Cave and Milner Hall. In addition to the hominin remains, abundant associated faunal assemblages have been excavated and include a large and diverse non-hominin primate collection. This project aims at providing 3D surfaces of newly hominin and primate remains as well as of the stone tools excavated at Sterkfontein.