The "Cradle of Humankind" (COH), bordering Gauteng and the North-West Province, was declared a World Heritage Site for the wealth of the human and animal fossils found there. Research based on fossils found in the area as well as signs of early human habitation have shed new light on the evolution of humankind and on the significant role that southern Africa played in the development of modern humans.

This edited volume frames the scientific advances that have been made in the COH against the intellectual and political background out of which they emerged. It places the COH within...