Exploring the origins of humans in southern Africa
A new exhibition, which is on display in the Table Mountain National Park, delves into the origins of humans in southern Africa.
Origins of Early Southern Sapiens Behaviour, which opened at the Buffelsfontein Visitor Centre in the Cape Point section of the park, on Tuesday June 6, explores key parts of our story as a species.
It is presented by SA National Parks, the University of Bergen’s Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour (SapienCE) in Norway and Wits University’s Evolutionary Studies Institute and will run for the next three years.
At the launch, SANParks CEO Hapiloe Sello said, “We are proud to offer visitors, and particularly young people, an opportunity to add to their bucket list, a cultural exploration exhibition that educates us about our common past and allows us to see first-hand where and how all humans’ ancestors lived.”
Curated by documentary film-maker Craig Foster and archaeologist Petro Keene, the exhibition draws on 30 years of archaeological research in the southern Cape by Professor Christopher Henshilwood, Dr Karen van Niekerk, Professor Sarah Wurz and their research teams of experts in various fields including psychology, chronology and palaeoclimate.
“Our goal has been to shed light on the complex and fascinating evolution of early Homo sapiens and their cultural and cognitive abilities. Using cutting-edge technology and innovative research methods, we have been able to uncover new insights into the behaviour of our early common ancestors and to affirm that we do, indeed, all come from Africa,” said Professor Henshilwood.
The exhibition comprises 19 display panels, including six videos by Craig Foster and Damon Foster, and content by the Sea Change Project.
The daily life of our early ancestors has been recreated on film, and their artefacts have been replicated to capture their way of life from 120 000 to 50 000 years ago.
