A search for origins: Science, history and south Africa’s ‘cradle of humankind’edited by Phillip Bonner, Amanda Esterhuysen and Trefor Jenkins (Wits University Press)
Mention Sterkfontein and many people will know that it is the site of the discovery of hominid fossils in the so-called “Cradle of Humankind”. But Sterkfontein is just one site within this fossil-rich region, which lies north-west of Johannesburg.
The Cradle was declared South Africa’s first World Heritage Site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation in 1999. It is not only the site of exploration into the deep prehistory of human development but also has a complex history that reflects the convoluted evolution not only of humans as a species but also of South Africa’s complicated politics and racial policies over the past two centuries, as this multidisciplinary study sets out to explore.
The 16 contributors represent a wide range of complementary academic disciplines, from archaeology, palaeontology and palaeobotany to history, geography, genetics and the study of indigenous oral traditions.
According to the blurb, A Search for Origins seeks to “shed new light not only on the evolution of humankind [but also] on the significant role that Southern Africa [has] played in the development of modern humans”.
In the process it illuminates how politics has so often stymied the process of scientific discovery, in particular South Africa’s schizophrenic policy of racial segregation.
The book is organised into five sections, some dealing, as one would expect, with the business of “bones and stones”: ancient fossils and their scientific study. But it also moves on into more modern times to examine the early Iron Age and Tswana occupation of the area. The impact of the early Boer republics on the political dynamics of the region, the legacy of the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand, the effects of the South African War of 1889-1902 and even, surprisingly (if only because it has almost been forgotten), the role of “poor whites” in the building of the Hartebeespoort Dam are also looked at.
Although academic in tone, it is certainly not inaccessible to the non-specialist reader. The book’s overall design enhances its reader-friendliness.
The book is copiously illustrated with photographs, paintings, maps, diagrams and facsimiles of historical material, such as letters, newspaper clippings and other memorabilia. Chapters are broken up by boxes explaining topics — from a short biography on Robert Broom to how DNA works.
The use of colour throughout enlivens what could otherwise have been a weighty tome, dry as the dust of the ages it explores.
A short review cannot hope to do justice to a volume so packed with fascinating and diverse material. As the “first systematic account of the wider history of the Cradle and surrounding area”, A Search for Origins not only explores the science involved but also shows how the broader politico-historical context in which scientific inquiry takes place has shaped recent South African history. Only two things would enhance this book further: going to visit the Origins Centre at Wits University or the Cradle itself.