Sterkfontein

Sterkfontein, Cradle of Humankind
Sterkfontein, Cradle of Humankind
	Location in Gauteng
Location	Gauteng, South Africa
Coordinates	26°00′57″S 27°44′05″E / 26.0157°S 27.7346°E
Established	Declared a World Heritage Site in 2000
Governing body	Cradle of Humankind

Sterkfontein (Afrikaans for Strong Spring) is a set of limestone caves of special interest in paleoanthropology located in Gauteng province, about 40 kilometres (25 mi) northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of Krugersdorp. The archaeological sites of Swartkrans and Kromdraai are in the same area. Sterkfontein is a South African National Heritage Site and was also declared a World Heritage Site in 2000. The area in which it is situated is known as the Cradle of Humankind.^[1]^[2] The Sterkfontein Caves are also home to numerous wild African species including Belonogaster petiolata, a wasp species of which there is a large nesting presence.^[3]

Numerous early hominin remains have been found at the site over the last few decades. These have been attributed to Australopithecus, early Homo and Paranthropus.

^ Cite error: The named reference SAHRA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference UNESCO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Keeping 1997.

[SAHRA-1] Cite error: The named reference SAHRA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[UNESCO-2] Cite error: The named reference UNESCO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEKeeping1997-3] Keeping 1997.

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