Cradle of Humankind
| Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa | |
|---|---|
| Name as inscribed on the World Heritage List | |
 Cradle of Humankind
|
|
| Location | South Africa |
| Type | Cultural |
| Criteria | iii, vi |
| Reference | 915 |
| UNESCO region | Africa |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 1999 (23rd Session) |
| Extensions | 2015 |
Coordinates: 25°58′02″S 27°39′45″E / 25.96716°S 27.66245°E
The Cradle of Humankind is a paleoanthropological site about 50 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Gauteng province. Declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1999, the site currently occupies 47,000 hectares (180 sq mi) and it contains a complex of limestone caves.
The Sterkfontein Caves contain the discovery of a 2.3-million-year-old fossil Australopithecus africanus (nicknamed "Mrs. Ples"), found in 1947 by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson. The find helped corroborate the 1924 discovery of the juvenile Australopithecus africanus skull known as the "Taung Child", by Raymond Dart, at Taung in the North West Province of South Africa, where excavations still continue.
Nearby the site, but not in the site, the Rising Star Cave system contains the Dinaledi Chamber (chamber of stars), in which were discovered fifteen fossil skeletons of an extinct species of hominin, provisionally named Homo naledi.
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