Africa Antiqua

It all began  in Africa.  The beginnings of man and the colonisation of the planet by humans. Homo erectus, the very first hominid to have an upright gait and posture, was our most ancient African ancestor. Innovative, intelligent and curious he slowly forced his way northwards into the frigid ennvironment of Eurasia some 1.5 million years ago. Subsequent migrations saw the gradual dispersal of ourselves, Homo sapiens. All hominids, including Homo erectus and Homo sapiens, evolved on the open sun-splashed grassland savannahs of Africa among a plethora of large wild animals. With such a deep prehistory Africa boasts the oldest, and amongst the finest, early human sites in the world.

Among these are sites such as Sterkfontein, Kromdraai, Drimolen and Border Cave. The world-famous Cradle of Mankind World Heritage site close to Johannesburg and Pretoria/Tswaneng includes the renowned Sterkfontein Caves and Kromdraai, and form one of the most prolific fossil-bearing areas in the world. From here come early forms such as Australopithecus and Homo erectus, as well as ancient extinct animals such as the fasle Sabre tooth Tiger that fed on these early hominids, and also the Giant Buffalo, Hartebeest and Eland. It is also one of the earliest sites upon which the controlled use of fire by man has been discovered.

Excusrions to this site may last from half a day to a full day specialist tour including the ongoing excavations at Drimolen site, depending upon the preferences and depth of interest of our guests.

The Stone Age of Africa includes three periods, namely the Early Stone Age (1.5 million years ago to 300 000 years ago), the Middle Stone Age (approx. 250 000 to 40 000 years ago) and finally, the Later Stone Age (40 000 to approx. 1870). 

Rough stone tools were evident in the Early Stone Age. These craftsmen were most likely Homo erectus who largely scavenged meat from wild predators. Tools such as hand axes provided them with the means of effectively competing with other carnivores for kills. Homo erectus were also the first hominids to walk with an erect posture, hence their scientific name. They are our direct ancestors, and the first to leave Africa for Europe. They were, in fact, a highly progressive and innovative hominid, and it is this intelligence and dynamic outlook that spurred to leave Africa and advance into Eurasia some a.5 million years ago.

During the Middle Stone Age stone tools became much smaller and much more sophisticated. Projectile points are prevalent in tool assemblages during this period. These were most probably mounted and used as spears by the same species as we, Homo sapiens. Middle Stone Age sites are to be found in the deep deposits of caves and rock shelters, as well as out in the open. There are various well-known Middle Stone Age sites in South Africa, and these are of international significance. Such sites include Klasies River Mouth, Blombos Cave, Rose Cottage Cave and the Robberg Peninsula.

Many Middle Stone Age sites have good bone and plant material preservations. Some even even offer up human remains. These finds help archaeologists to reconstruct past environments and also to establish which animals were hunted by early modern people, and even what their vegetal diet would have included. 

The Later Stone Age of southern Africa is perhaps the most dynamic of all the Stone Ages as their was a huge population increase, resulting in many more sites than previous periods. Stone tools became even much smaller, and much more refined. Some are so beautiful that they can be regarded as works of art in themselves. Some were made as composite tools so that they included more than just one blade and could be easily mounted upon a piece of stick to form an arrow. The Khoisan people were the occupants of the Later southern African Stone Age and it is they who were the master artists of some of the finest prehistoric rock art in the world.