Regional geological formation and speleogenesis of the ‘Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa’ UNESCO World Heritage Site

A critical gap in understanding the geological and geomorphological processes shaping South Africa's Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa (The Cradle of Humankind), a UNESCO World Heritage Area, has been identified. The study reveals that while the region is renowned for its hominin fossil discoveries, there is a lack of comparative analyses of regional speleogenesis—karst formation linked to underlying geology—and its implications for palaeoanthropological and archaeological records. To address this, researchers synthesized stratigraphic and geomorphological histories, providing a foundational geological framework that integrates previously disconnected data. This approach aims to bridge the gap between large-scale regional studies and local-scale karst processes, offering new insights into the complex interactions that have preserved hominin fossils over millennia.

Murszewski, A., Edwards, T. R., Cruden, A. R., Armstrong, B., Boschian, G., & Herries, A. (2019). Regional geological formation and speleogenesis of the ‘Fossil Hominid Sites of South Africa’ UNESCO World Heritage Site. La Trobe. https://doi.org/10.26181/28443659