The Western Cape Government today launched the Cradle of Human Culture – archaeological and paleontological heritage routes with three anchor sites in the Western Cape – alongside the World Travel Market Africa 2019 conference in Cape Town.
The project is a partnership with the Cradle of Humankind, as the Fossil Hominid Site of South Africa is already a World Heritage Site.
The Cradle of Human Culture launch showcased the routes, logo, promotional material, as well as the Virtual Reality Programme to be rolled out at different interpretation centers and existing exhibitions.
The South African sites of Blombos Cave, Pinnacle Point Site Complex, Diepkloof Rock Shelter in the Western Cape; Klasies River in the Eastern Cape and Border Cave and Sibudu Cave in KwaZulu-Natal, have contributed outstanding evidence of palaeo-environmental conditions and the evolution of early humans.
Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, said: “As a group, these sites are vital to our understanding of the origins of anatomically modern humans, the transitions they survived, and their modern cognitive abilities.”
“The three sites within the Western Cape are in the process of being nominated World Heritage sites, but the other three sites in the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal will be added to the nomination at a later stage. We are looking forward to work with our colleagues in the other provinces on this.”
The aim is for the route to then develop beyond the Western Cape into the rest of the country.
There are 13 archaeological and palaeontological sites on the route, five along the West Coast, seven on the southern Cape coast and one in Cape Town. Additional experiences and products have been added to the route that show us how as humans we came from the first drawing to our latest modern art activities.
Additional sites will be progressively added to the two existing routes as they become tourist-ready and clustered into additional route.
For more information on the Cradle of Human Culture, including the routes, please visit https://www.cradleofhumanculture.co.za/
