About The Cave

Why is Wonderwerk Cave so Important to Archaeologists?

Wonderwerk Cave is the oldest known cave occupation in the world.  This remarkable site preserves and intact sequence of sediments that accumulated very gradually over a period stretching back almost two million years.  This sequence incorporates stone tools, animal bones, and botanical materials that provide evidence for shifts in the activity and the ecological context of our early human ancestors and the recent communities that lived in this region.  We can think of Wonderwerk Cave as one of the great archives in the world, preserving fragile evidence of our history reaching far back into the past.

Detailed geological research has produced some of the earliest known evidence for the use of fire by humans in a context dated to approximately one million years ago. Our research today is geared to understand how early humans used fire and whether they were able to produce fire.

Microscopic fragment of wood ash from Wonderwerk Cave  more...

Researchers


Michael Chazan

Project Director


Liora Kolska

Project Director

Supported by:

 
 

Media and Research Videos

Million years old fires discovered in a Wonderwerk Cave
Video

Million years old fires discovered in a Wonderwerk Cave

A recent discovery that early humans used fire for survival, by the Wonderwerk Cave Research Te…

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Million years old fires discovered in a Wonderwerk Cave
Video

Million years old fires discovered in a Wonderwerk Cave

A recent discovery that early humans used fire for survival, by the Wonderwerk Cave Research Te…

1569
DAG: Wonderwerk Caves (full insert)
Video

DAG: Wonderwerk Caves (full insert)

The plot is unknown, however, the story begins two hours after the first movie ends. The Moviec…

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Live Stream : SA Archaeological Society Talks with Michael Chazan
Video

Live Stream : SA Archaeological Society Talks with Michael Chazan

Michael Chazan in conversation with SA Archaeological Society, history of Wonderwerk Caves

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