The impact of Gladysvale
- Wits University
Gladysvale is known for its impact on the dating of cave sites in Africa and has produced some of the most spectacular faunal remains of extinct animals.
When announced in 1992, Gladysvale was the first new early hominid site to be discovered in southern Africa since the site of Swartkrans was discovered in 1948. The two teeth made news worldwide, yet few other hominids were discovered at the site over the next 17 years of work. The site has become known though for its impact on the dating of cave sites in Africa and has produced some of the most spectacular faunal remains of extinct animals of any site. The number and preservation of the fossils from the site is almost unprecedented, and it has even produced a fossil hominid hair which might belong to the species Homo naledi. In this lecture, Lee Berger, who discovered the first hominids at the site almost thirty years ago, explores the more than 70 years of impact on the science of palaeoanthropology this important site has had since Phillip Tobias led his first student expedition to the cave.