It appears that the South African Cape south coast's dunes and beaches formed a vast canvas of sand on which our ancestors could leave their mark.
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Articles on Human ancestors
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These surfaces are of profound scientific, cultural, heritage, environmental, and aesthetic importance. Unfortunately, they are threatened - by graffiti.
A remarkable set of discoveries has confirmed that parts of Stonehenge first stood 140 miles away at Waun Mawn, west Wales.
These ancient surfaces, which often preserve the tracks in remarkable detail, are now amenable to inspection and interpretation.
Before 200,000 years ago, close to the origin of our species, people preferred the use of broad-leaved grasses to build their beds and resting areas using ash layers underneath.
The artefact comes from deposits dated to more than 60,000 years ago. It closely resembles thousands of bone arrowheads used by the indigenous San hunter-gatherers from the 18th to the 20th centuries.
This is a hugely important find. It means that one of our earlier ancestors possibly originated in southern Africa.
The findings suggest that this specimen could climb and move in trees. But it may also have been able to walk on the ground. This echoes previous studies.
Given that we know humans moved across these landscapes, we wondered whether there might also be evidence of other forms of human activity on these surfaces of sand.
There's almost no place on earth that doesn't hold traces of humanity. But which routes did our ancestors follow first?
Researchers can more easily compare heated rocks from different studies and areas.
Thanks to hundreds of fossil remains found in Africa studies can explore new scenarios about how our ancestors lived and evolved.
Five major finds this year adds to our understanding of evolution and ancient life history.
Palaeontological finds offer a compelling and profound way to think about our place in nature.
A new discovery adds to our existing understanding of Homo sapiens in Africa.
Ancient indigenous people often collected fossil shells, teeth and bones that have provided critical clues about human origins.
Archaeologists have discovered the world’s oldest cheese, and it reveals how our ancestor’s cooking methods helped the human diet adapt.
New tools add to an emerging view of the past as a turbulent “Game of Thrones” style scenario, with distinct early human ancestors living in Eurasia before Homo sapiens arrived.
Top contributors
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Research Associate, African Centre for Coastal Palaeoscience, Nelson Mandela University
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Senior Researcher in Vertebrate Palaeontology, University of the Witwatersrand
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Lecturer, University of Cambridge
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Head of Department of Archaeology and History, La Trobe University
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Senior research fellow, Southern Cross University
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Associate Professor in Earth Sciences, University of Adelaide
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Professor of Archaeology, Institute of Archaeology, UCL
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Professor of Evolutionary Studies, Professor of African Prehistory, University of Bergen
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Principal Investigator, SapienCE - Centre for Early Sapiens Behaviour, University of Bergen
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Ramón y Cajal (Senior) Research Fellow, Centro Nacional de Investigación sobre la Evolución Humana (CENIEH)
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Professor with Research Focus in Stone Age Archaeology, Palaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg
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ARC Research Fellow, University of Adelaide
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Associate professor, University of Johannesburg
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Lecturer in Archaeology, University of York
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Chief Scientist of PAST, the Palaeontogical Scientific Trust, University of the Witwatersrand
