Like son, like (possible) mother – a second sediba fossil goes on display at Maropeng

June 4, 2010

By Camilla Bath

Maropeng is playing host to another of the Australopithecus sediba fossils during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. The partial skeleton of a young sediba female will be on display at Maropeng from June 10, for the duration of the tournament, which ends on July 11. Early in April, the remnants of a little boy, who some scientists believe could have been the female’s son, were unveiled at the Maropeng Visitor Centre. The exhibition gave the world its first glimpse of Australopithecus sediba, a new species of hominid. The boy remained on display at Maropeng for 10 days after the unveiling and is currently part of a temporary exhibition at the Origins Centre at Wits University. The man credited with the fossils’ discovery – Wits University’s Professor Lee Berger – has, rather contentiously, pegged them as strong candidates for a transitional species between the early hominid genus Australopithecus and the genus to which humans belong, Homo. They’re believed to be as old as 2-million years and were discovered in the Cradle of Humankind in 2008, only a few kilometres from the Sterkfontein Caves, the Cradle’s most famous fossil site. To ensure that as many people as possible are able to view both these remarkable fossils, Maropeng, the Sterkfontein Caves and Origins Centre are offering a special joint ticket that will allow visitors to explore all three destinations. Tickets cost just R210 for adults and R100 for children and are valid for the duration of the World Cup. They can be purchased at any of the three locations. Ticket holders must visit Maropeng and the Sterkfontein Caves on the same day, but are free to tour the Origins Centre on another date during the football tournament. Visitors are encouraged to take advantage of this special promotion as soon as possible. Click here to read more about Australopithecus sediba. News comments powered by Disqus