Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment For Civil Engineers: An Analysis Of The Heritage Status Of The Sterkfontein Caves

Introduction

The Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind is one of the world’s richest hominid fossil sites and also the site of the longest continuous paleoanthropological dig in the world, with excavations having begun here in 1935. located in Gauteng province, about 40 kilometres Northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa in the Muldersdrift area close to the town of Krugersdorp.

Project details

1. Project Reference No HTA3B02
2. Project Title Heritage Status of the Sterkfontein Caves
3. Project Location Gauteng Province
4. Project Co-ordinates 26° 00′ 56. 52″ S, 27° 44′ 4. 56″ E
5. Property Description World Heritage Site
6. Heritage Assessment Practitioner: Mr Khauhelo Nthejane

Amongst the most remarkable findings to have been made by numerous world famous scientists within the Cradle of Humankind is the famous Mrs. Ples, the first complete Australopithecus skull to be discovered and more recently, “Little Foot”, a 4. 17 million-year-old almost complete ape-man skeleton was also discovered in the same caves. It was the adult ape-men fossils from Sterkfontein that helped prove to the world that Africa was the cradle of humankind. Sterkfontein has fossil deposits dating back to almost 3. 5 million years ago all the way up to 1. 5 million years ago, providing a wealth of information about the different hominid species that existed in this 2 million year interval.

Sterkfontein Caves Site

The Fossil Hominid Sites of Sterkfontein were inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1999 under Cultural criteria (iii) and (vi). In justifying these criteria, the World Heritage Committee noted that the Sterkfontein area contained an exceptionally large and scientifically significant group of fossil sites that are especially rich in hominid fossils that throw light on the development of the earliest ancestors of humankind. They constitute a vast and concentrated reserve of palaeo-archaeological fossils of outstanding scientific significance that provide a comprehensive record of human evolution. It covers more than 47 000 hectares (and an additional 80 000 hectares of buffer zone) of mostly privately owned land and has produced an abundance of scientific information on the evolution of the human race over the past 3. 5 million years, including insight into its way of life.

Compliance With Act No. 25 The National Resources Heritage Act Of 1999

South Africa’s unique and non-renewable archaeological and palaeontological heritage sites are protected in terms of Section 35 of the National Heritage Resources Act (Act No. 25 of 1999), and in terms of this act, all fossils excavated post 1999 are the property of the state and may not be removed from their place of origin without a permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA) or from provincial heritage resources authorities where such exist. SAHRA in turn is responsible for ensuring that the fossils removed in terms of its permits are placed in museums or universities that have acceptable formal collecting policies and the facilities to look after them for future generations. At the Sterkfontein Caves, one of the ways used to comply environmentally and from the heritage point is by ensuring that there is a reduction of the carbon footprint and this is done by recycling waste and water, and making sure to keep the grasslands in natural condi-tion. There is also a localized wetland system, which filters and cleans the site’s grey and black water. Rubin (2000) “The one message Maropeng tries to instil in visitors is that we must all live in a sustainable manner for future generations,” any archaeological or palaeontological objects or material discovered at Sterkfontein, are always immediately reported to the Authority, or to the nearest local authority offices or museum. The most popular fossils from the caves have been relocated to the Wits Origins museum, but others have been restored in their original form and displayed at the visitor’s centre at the cradle. An active management of visitor use zones is essential to keep the experience of the site authentic and heritage resource intact as much is still being discovered around the caves.

Problems Encountered

The main threat to the site comes from urban development, with Krugersdorp expanding northwards and extending to less than 5km from the boundaries of the site, and Randburg expanding to the northwest to within 15km from the boundaries of the site. This threat is considered to be very serious by the authorities and plans to regulate urban development and zoning are in preparation (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 1998a). The damage caused by insufficiently controlled or anarchical visits, particularly by tourists, is significant (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 1998a). There is a fine line between preservation and desecration. If not handled responsibly, tourism pressure could have a substantial impact on the sites resulting in trampling of deposits, graffiti, damage to rock art, and removal of archaeological material, (Fleminger, 2006: 11). 6 | P a g e Pressures exist on the environment because of the presence of the villagers around. They are scattered over the protected area, and their use of wood, water and dumping of rubbish which are necessities of everyday life, are prejudicial to the environmental balance (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 1998a).

Heritage Authorities

World Heritage sites in South Africa are regulated by a combination of national, provincial and local legal requirements including but not limited to: the World Heritage Convention Act, the National Heritage Resources Act, the National Environmental Management Act, provincial legislation and municipal regulations. South Africa has established an intra-governmental body known as the South African World Heritage Convention Committee (SAWHCC), convened by the national Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT), and made up of representatives from each province, the relevant departments and relevant statutory bodies, to advise the national Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (November, 2007). Most of the property is privately owned but the Sterkfontein Caves are owned by the University of the Witwatersrand. The Cradle of Humankind is a working site with scientists, archaeologists and palaeoanthropologists constantly excavating in the area in an effort to add to our still incomplete understanding of the origins of humans (Fleminger, 2006: 11). Of the remaining 2%, the State owns 8ha and the rest, essentially the Nature Reserve on which the Sterkfontein Caves are located and the farm on which Swartkrans is located, is owned by the University of the Witwatersrand. The situation is made more complex because of the multiple and diverse number of stakeholders involved – landowners, local, provincial, and national administrations and scientific institutions (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 1998a).

Caves preservation

This famous fossil site was originally explored by lime prospectors in the 1890s but its significance in terms of fossil finds was not immediately understood at the time. However, once evidence of hominin fossils began to surface, the Sterkfontein Caves became an exciting and rewarding area of excavation. Over the past 100 years they have been well protected and shielded from any further artificial courses of deterioration. The caves have a rich fossil history thanks to the rare preservation conditions of the area's dolomitic limestone ridges. The fossil sites here have produced more hominin fossils than any other sites in the world. There are 15 fossil sites in the core area and are very well protected and kept in their natural form.

Conclusion

According to Middleton (1994: 6) heritage is not an industry as economists might define it, yet it represents a market with a large and growing public whose needs are catered for by competing organizations. The Sterkfontein discoveries gave rise to major advances in the understanding of the time, place, and mode of evolution of the human family. The cave sites of the Sterkfontein Valley represent the combined works of nature and of man, in the sense that they contain an exceptional record of early stages of hominid evolution, of hominid cultural evolution and of mammalian evolution. Included in the deposits from 2. 0 million years onwards in situ are archaeological remains that are of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science, archaeology, and anthropology (UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 1998a). Palaeontological impacts can be significant, if sites and visitor access are not well managed. With mitigation and proper site management, these impacts can be reduced. The impacts are deemed insignificant and will enhance sensitive heritage sites, if planned and managed effectively.