Learning and conserving at Maropeng in 2011 – photo essay

December 29, 2011 – Mildred Thabane

It’s been a year of excitement, learning and conserving at the Maropeng Visitor Centre. In this photo essay, we reflect on some of the highlights of 2011.
January – Oldest dinosaur eggs at Maropeng

The world’s oldest fossilised dinosaur eggs went on display at Maropeng. The 195-million-year-old Massospondylus eggs, which can be clearly seen with a magnifying glass, are part of the Treasures of our Past exhibition. The clutch of fossilised eggs are the oldest known evidence of parental care and were discovered in Rooidraai in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in 1976 by former director of the BPI (Bernard Price Institute), Professor James Kitching.

February – Celebrating World Wetlands Day

On February 2, the Cradle of Humankind celebrated World Wetlands Day. The visitor centre for the Cradle of Humankind maintains its own artificial wetland system - an SSF CWS or Subsurface Flow Constructed Wetland System – which is designed to naturally assist in the filtering and cleansing of the site’s grey and black water.

Mark Fouche, Maropeng’s maintenance manager, says that, in the spirit of making Maropeng more self-sustainable, “The wetlands were constructed in order to conserve energy by minimising the site’s reliance on sewage processing plants.”

The Convention on Wetlands was signed on February 2, 1971 and, according to the Ramsar website, more than 95 countries across the world have been recorded as taking part in the celebration of World Wetlands Day since its inception.

March – Harry goes to Germany

Maropeng’s mascot and tour guide, Harry the Hominid, visited Germany for the ITB Berlin 2011 international travel and tourism industry show. With tough competition at the show – over 11 000 stands from more than 188 countries – Harry made quite an impression on the visitors. Erica Jago, former general manager at Maropeng, said at the time that the response to Harry was quite interesting, “Some find him offensive and become quite aggressive towards us; others can’t wait to have their picture taken with Harry and share it with their friends.”

April – Wits students ‘dig’ Maropeng

Archaeology students from the University of the Witwatersrand got to taste a real excavation site when they uncovered stone tools that date back at least 1-million years. The site, located at the entrance of the Tumulus building, was ideal for the students as it didn’t involve deep cave systems, and it gave them invaluable experience. A student who worked on the site, had a very successful first dig. “I’ve had great success,” he said on the day.  “I’ve retrieved about five artefacts.”

May – Maropeng exhibits at Future Ed

Future Ed, the education show, took place in May and Maropeng was one of the exhibitors. Maropeng showcased their educational resource pack, a teaching tool aimed at incorporating the theory of evolution in all subjects from Grade R through to matric. Maropeng sponsored two prizes as part of the MySchool competition – one school received more than R200 000 worth of educational resources, and one teacher won resources valued at R100 000.

June – Putting the environment first

Maropeng joined the world in celebrating World Environment Day on June 5 this year. Maropeng’s efforts to make the Cradle of Humankind more environmentally friendly include planting indigenous trees on Arbour Day and conserving the surrounding natural environment.

July – Maropeng grasslands and wetlands win an award

In July, Maropeng took home a silver certificate in the South African Landscapers Institute (Sali) awards for the maintenance of its grasslands and wetlands. A total of 112 projects were judged over 35 days at this year’s prestigious awards. Managing Director of Maropeng, Tony Rubin, said Maropeng is very proud to have been recognised for the award, “It really means a great deal to us because it shows that all the effort we’ve put into the environment has had a positive effect.”

August – Bone Detectives launched at Maropeng

August at Maropeng was about the launch of the Bone Detectives walking tours. Presented by up-and-coming Wits scientist Brendon Billings, the tours investigate the 7-million-year evolution of hominids by looking at evidence in fossils found in the area. Bone Detectives consists of three tours - Reading the bones of our ancestors, Following the footsteps of legends and Transformations of body and mind.

September – Fossils of Australopithecus sediba return to the Cradle of Humankind

Police escorted MH-2, a female fossil hominid of the species Australopithecus sediba, to Maropeng in September. The nearly 2-million-year-old fossil forms an important part in the story of human evolution, as its unusual characteristics raise further questions about how hominids evolved from generation to generation. Bonita de Klerk, who is completing her PhD, said, “It took 180 000 hours to extract the fossils from the rock,” a testament to the hard work behind the display.

October – Princess of Thailand visits Maropeng

Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand visited the Cradle of Humankind while in transit after royal visits to Lesotho and Swaziland. The visit was organised for the princess by the Thai Embassy in South Africa. Tony Rubin, managing director at Maropeng, welcomed the royal guests and said it was a privilege to have the princess at the Cradle of Humankind as her visit provided a great opportunity for international exposure.

November – Experts in the palaeosciences come to Maropeng for the Broom Colloquium

Sabre-toothed cats, cave formation and the Cradle of Humankind were hot topics in November as Kate Turkington, veteran broadcaster of Talk Radio 702, interviewed Maropeng curator Lindsay Marshall about the Broom Colloquium. The Broom Colloquium celebrated the past decade’s work at the Cradle and hosted presentations by the country’s top experts in the field of palaeoscience. The colloquium is named after Professor Robert Broom, a man regarded as one of the most significant contributors to palaeoanthropology in South Africa. 

December – Kingdom of the Big Cats fossil display at Maropeng

Bolts Farm, Kingdom of the Big Cats, is the site where partial skeletons of big cats were first found. An exhibition of a selection of the original fossils discovered 75 years ago by Professor Robert Broom will run from December to February 2012 at Maropeng, in partnership with the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History.

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