Palaeo Research

PALAEO RESEARCH @ UJ

As a hub for palaeo research within the country and continent, conduct research on various sub-disciplines associated with human origins and evolution thereof.

Drimolen fossil site

UJ (Dr Stephanie Caruana) holds the permit for Drimolen fossil site. Located approximately 7 km north of the more popular Sterkfontein Valley caves which has yielded the remains of ‘Mrs Ples’, Drimolen a rich fauna and hominid-bearing site which was discovered in 1992.

It is one of the best-dated sites in South Africa. In 2020 Drimolen made news by an announcement (see the link to the Science article) of the first definite Homo erectus remains in Africa, and through the same announcement, Herries et al., research established that these fossils are the oldest definitive specimens of their species ever discovered. Therefore these species of Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and early Homo, overlapped in the karst of South Africa at approximately 2 million years ago.