Treasure trove of fossils
- By Wits University
Wits palaeoanthropologist, Professor Lee Berger, and his Rising Star Expedition team have in just 21 days recovered more than 1 000 specimen from a cave about two kilometres from the Sterkfontein Caves in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
“The site is now the richest early hominid site in southern Africa. It is a treasure trove of fossils and we have only scratched the surface. We will be working here for decades to come,” Berger said during a media briefing on Tuesday, 26 November 2013.
Berger, a Research Professor in Human Evolution from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at the University of the Witwatersrand and a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, is directing the expedition that consists of a team of international researchers. These include a specialised group of six women Berger has sourced through social media and who all fit strict criteria: They had to be tiny and small, specialised cavers and spelunkers with excellent archaeological, palaeontological and excavation skills. Read more about the expedition launch and these “underground astronauts”.
The expedition started on 7 November 2013 and involved some 40 to 50 scientists, cavers and support staff.
Says Berger: “Within a couple of hours from starting with the excavation we were able to bring up the first specimen to the surface. Since then everyone involved have been working round-the-clock. The advance science team members– who have expertise in excavation, recovery and extracting fossils - worked on a rotation basis.”
“It soon became clear that we are dealing here with more than one skeleton and over the next three weeks this site has met and far exceeded our expectations. The quality of preservation (of the fossils) is exceptional. We have well over 1 000 catalogued specimen so far.”
To respect the scientific integrity of the discovery the team will not be able to answer some of the most pressing questions just yet.
“At this stage we will not be able to discuss certain aspects of what we have recovered because mostly we just don’t know what it is yet. We cannot say how old these fossils are, only that they are from early hominid. We do not know the species and will not speculate on the taxonomy at this stage. It is a significant number of individuals but we do not know how many yet. We also cannot speculate as to the individuals’ profiles, because we truly do not know.”
Berger says the hardest part now is wrapping-up the excavation on Tuesday and withdrawing from the site for now.
“We will be back early next year, but we are dealing with something remarkable here and we need to go back, rethink and rework our plan on how we are going to deal with this site in the future. We have not yet scratched the surface and this work will go on for decades!”
Berger and the team will have to assess their current expedition plan and come up with workable solutions on how to deal with such a huge amount of specimen.
“It is a painful thing to stop the expedition now, but everyone is exhausted. Extracting the material in just under a month is unprecedented in the palaeo-world. We need to go back and test our equipment, technology and see if we are scientifically on the right track,” says Berger.
Open access to science
It is not just the discovery that has the team all excited. A new era has also dawned for open access to science. School learners, students and the public at large are being involved and kept informed about the expedition through social media, blogs and Skype-discussions with groups around the world.
Berger explains: “We are experimenting with open access by informing the public about the expedition and keeping them up-to-date on our progress but keeping in mind that we cannot compromise the integrity of our science as we still need to publish our scientific findings in peer-reviewed journals.”
“Since our discovery of Australopithecus sediba at the Malapa site in 2008, some 50km from here, our open access policies have also allowed researchers from all over the world to get involve and work with the material we have. It will be the same with this discovery. This is much better approach to science and discovery than small teams working in isolation from other scientists.”
National Geographic blogger Andrew Howley has been blogging video, text and photographic updates on the excavation on a daily basis through a blog managed by National Geographic.
Follow the blog at http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/tag/rising-star-expedition/
Follow the expedition on Twitter @LeeRberger or @RisingStarExped
For more information visit www.wits.ac.za/news