The enormous shelter that is known as Border Cave, situated high in the Lebombo Mountains which form South Africa's western boundary with Swaziland, was first excavated in 1934.
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BORDER CAVE
Some of the earliest traces of our oldest ancestors - from whom all people in the world are descended - have been found in a rock shelter in a remote part of northern Maputaland. Remains dating back more than 150 000 years are believed to be the oldest known evidence of homosapiens, or anatomically modern humans.
The true significance of its archaeological treasure-house has been realised only relatively recently.
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Tembe Elephant Lodge in Tembe Elephant National park - is the closest accommodation to Border Cave and once they have received appropriate training, it is hoped that the Lodge's tourist guides will be authorised to take visitors to the site, although entry to the shelter itself will be allowed only in the presence of the site curator. |
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In 1940, a local resident believed that the sandy residue on the cave floor was guano and therefore useful as
fertiliser. He dug a hole in which he found a number of human cranial and limb bone fragments. These were sent to Professor Raymond Dart, the renowned Wits University palaeontologist, who realised their antiquity.
Subsequent excavations yielded incredibly rich material. The latest investigation was led by South African archaeologist Peter Beaumont, and produced the largely complete skeleton of a four to six-month old infant buried in a shallow grave.
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Remains of at least five homosapiens individuals have also been discovered. Their dating and study has led researchers, including Beaumont, to conclude that the formative processes in the physical and cultural evolution of modern humans took place on the game-rich savannahs of sub- equatorial Africa.
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Border Cave has now yielded more than 69 000 Stone Age implements, as well as the remains of at least 43 mammal species, including elephant and three others that are now extinct. All the evidence suggests that modern humans developed in southern Africa. Their descendants migrated northwards and into Europe and Asia, displacing the European Neanderthals. |
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Border Cave is on the tentative list for World Heritage Site status. Amafa KwaZulu Natali, the KwaZulu-Natal cultural heritage authority, has fenced the site and stabilised the friable deposits, as its highly sensitive nature means that access is restricted even for scientists and researchers. Amafa is planning to establish a visitor centre nearby that will showcase the story of the shelter without intruding on its fragile secrets. |
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