Field Guide to the Cradle Of Humankind

Field Guide to the Cradle Of Humankind by Brett Hilton-Barber and Prof. Lee R. Berger

The thing about the back roads of South Africa is that they’re very often remarkably close to our main centres – a fact which this superb and well-illustrated guide perfectly illustrates.

You’ll find The Cradle of Humankind – the Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai area – about 50 km from the centre of Johannesburg (kind of fitting, isn’t it: the birthplace of our ancestors lies right next door to the gold reefs which gave birth to South Africa’s economy. And, what with the South African War and all, to quite a bit more besides).

And there you are, you see – you try and say something simple about The Cradle and you get yourself lost in a maze of history, palaeontology, sociology, economics, bird watching, the nature of grasslands, changing climatic regimes and and and…

Which is precisely why this guide is exactly what I wish I had had when I visited the area two years ago.

The book is divided into three sections – ‘Of Blood and Stone’ (which deals with timelines, the changing nature of the landscape and the search for human origins); ‘Wondows on the Past’ (a brief history of the last 3 million years, a who’s who of the hominin family tree and descriptions of the fossil sites of the area); and ‘Fauna and Flora’ (a guide to the animals and plants you’ll find in The Cradle).

It’s books like this that make the journey the destination.

Buy it here.