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The northern cradle of humanity. Africa - the only cradle of humanity? What places on earth are called the cradle of humanity

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Sterkfontein Caves- Archaeologists in the building above the Sterkfontein entrance. Sterkfontein Caves are famous for six underground halls at a depth of over 40 meters. Located near Johannesburg. In one ... Wikipedia

Paleoanthropology- (Greek παλαιανθρωπολογία, from παλαιός ancient and ἄνθρωπος man) a section of physical anthropology that studies the evolution of hominids on the basis of fossil remains ... Wikipedia

Hypothesis of African human descent- Hypothesis of human African descent - a hypothesis according to which the area of human origin is in Africa. The founders of this hypothesis are the famous archaeologists, the Leakey family. The hypothesis is based on finds in ... ... Wikipedia

N.F. Fedorov

Nikolay Fedorovich Fedorov- Portrait of Nikolai Fyodorov by Leonid Pasternak Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov (June 7, 1829 December 28, 1903) is a Russian religious thinker and philosopher futurologist, librarian, and an innovator. One of the founders of the Russian ... ... Wikipedia

Fedorov, Nikolay Fedorovich- Portrait of Nikolai Fyodorov by Leonid Pasternak Nikolai Fyodorovich Fyodorov (June 7, 1829 December 28, 1903) is a Russian religious thinker and philosopher futurologist, librarian, and an innovator. One of the founders of the Russian ... ... Wikipedia

Books

Cradle of Humanity Under the Lies of World Religions, Vadim Kryuk. This book invites the reader to look at the usual generally accepted historical process and established religious tendencies through the prism of new facts that shift the time frame deeply ... Buy for 320 rubles eBook
Mesopotamia. Cradle of Humanity, Bardeschi Chiara Dezzi. For thousands of years on the earth between two rivers - the Tigris and the Euphrates - various nationalities coexisted or replaced each other. The historical significance of Mesopotamia as the "cradle of humanity" is difficult ...

It seems quite logical from the point of view of the development of history that the World Heritage Site - the Cradle of Humanity, included in the UNESCO list in 1999, is located in a place where some kind of invisible connection with the past is still preserved. You can look at such an outlandish phenomenon after driving about 50 kilometers away.

What is the Cradle of Humanity monument?

Monument Cradle of Humanity is not just a free-standing monument, as a tourist who first heard this name might think. This is a complex of limestone caves covering an area of no less than 474 square kilometers. In total, there are 30 caves and each of them is unique in its own way, because it was the site of finds of fossil remains of great historical value.

The excavations carried out helped archaeologists to find about five hundred remains of an ancient man, many animal remains and even tools made by African tribes.

11 years ago, a Visitor Center was opened in the complex, but even now, researchers continue to look in this area for something that can reveal the secrets of distant history. Tourists who come here with an excursion have a unique opportunity to look at incredible finds and feel the special atmosphere of history created by ancient people, see ancient human sites and incredible beauty of stalactites and stalagmites. The visitor center also broadcasts the evolutionary stages of the formation of mankind on special displays. In addition, it also organizes various exhibitions available for visiting. Not far from the complex there is a good hotel where you can stay overnight.

By the way, the tourist does not always have time to explore all the caves, and therefore, going to the Cradle of Humanity and having time constraints, it is recommended to opt for the most interesting of them:

Sterkfontein Caves;
cave "Miracles";
cave "Malapa";
cave "Svartkrans";
Rising Star cave.

The most interesting caves in the Cradle of Humanity

So, once in the Cradle of Humanity, it is worth going to the group of caves, known for the fact that the remains of Australopithecus were first discovered here in 1947 by Robert Broome and John Robinsons. The caves are approximately 20-30 million years old and cover an area of 500 square meters.

The Miracles Cave is also a World Heritage Site and is of great interest to tourists. Its size is the third in the entire country, and its age is about one and a half million years. Tourists in the cave are traditionally impressed by stalactite and stalagmite formations, of which there are a total of 14 pieces, reaching 15 meters in height. An interesting fact is that, according to the researchers, 85% of the caves, even to this day, continue to increase in growth.

Another interesting cave is called the Malapa Cave. 8 years ago, in the cave, archaeologists found the remains of skeletons, whose age is 1.9 million years, and the remains of baboons were also found here, so tourists will definitely have something to see here.

Fragments of ancient people are presented in the "Svartkrans" cave and the "Rising Star" cave. By the way, in the last of them, excavations were carried out not so long ago and covered the period from 2013 to 2014, so tourists are waiting for completely "fresh" finds of antiquity.

For 150 years of studying the history of the origin and development of man, the beginning of which was laid by the find of Neanderthal man, many theories have been put forward, accepted, disputed and rejected. The very time of the appearance of the first ancestors of people with each new find was pushed further and further into the depths of the centuries. But with each new discovery, the number of questions does not decrease, but, on the contrary, only increases. Where is the only ancestor from which all hominids, including humans, descended? Is Africa the only cradle of humanity? And if so, how many times and when did the ancient man leave this continent? When did the ancient people take possession of fire? And perhaps one of the most important questions is when did the person speak? After all, mastery of speech is the very important sign that distinguishes a person from an animal.

Research over the past two decades has forced us to take a fresh look at the world of Homo erectus - Homo erectus. It was he, driven by a thirst to search for new habitats, left Africa and moved towards the unknown. In a fairly short time, he settled from the Iberian Peninsula to Indonesia.

But in what ways did he advance? Homo erectus has traditionally been considered a purely land-based creature. However, the latest finds in Spain prompted the famous anthropologist Philip Tobayes to put forward a theory about the possible seaworthiness of these ancestors and their crossing of the Strait of Gibraltar. The latest discovery on the Indonesian island of Flores can serve as confirmation of this theory. But the supporters of the traditional version do not give up, and a discussion about the validity of this theory unfolded in the scientific world.

Today in the scientific world there is a wide discussion about the possible penetration of primitive man into Europe through the Strait of Gibraltar (In May of this year, the conference "Plio-Pleistocene climatic changes, change of fauna and the spread of man" was held in Terragona). An alternative hypothesis suggests that this penetration took place through the Middle East. So could an ancient man have crossed Gibraltar after all? Let's turn to paleontology for an answer.

Africa is a continent that has already managed to present so many interesting anthropological findings and still hides many secrets of the origin and evolution of man. For a long time, the ancestors of people roamed the endless expanses of the African savannah, gradually improving their skills in obtaining food and in ways to protect themselves from bad weather and predators. But then something imperceptibly began to change in the world around them, something changed in themselves, and they were irresistibly pulled into the distance. Perhaps their homeland has become small for them, perhaps the spirit of adventure seekers has awakened in those distant ancestors, the very spirit that for centuries has called people on the way. And they responded to this eternal call, and set off on a thousand-year journey.

Or maybe everything was much more prosaic? In those distant times, when human survival directly depended on who and in what quantity he would get on the hunt, the tribes of ancient hunters were forced to follow herds of large animals - a kind of mobile food depots. In this case, considering the probable routes of settlement of ancient humans from Africa, one should take into account not only specific archaeological or anthropological finds, but also evidence of the distribution of animals, especially large mammals, 1.5-2.5 million years ago. But whatever the incentives that made our distant ancestors set off on the path, the question remains: how did they penetrate Europe? Proponents of the migration across the Strait of Gibraltar hypothesis put forward the following arguments:

It is highly probable that there was a land bridge that connected Europe and Africa in the Strait of Gibraltar region (or, at least, the distance between them was much less);

There could have been some kind of "transshipment point" - an island in the middle of the strait, through which there was
migration;

Europe was visible from Africa.

If we discard the romantic component of the motives for the "great migration of peoples" - the adventure spirit, then first of all, one should pay attention to the natural environment that developed by the end of the Pliocene (2.5-2 million years ago) and was caused by two very significant factors - tectonic activity and global climate change. By this time, the formation of the main modern features of the relief of northern Africa, Europe and Asia Minor was completed. In addition, a large wave of migration of mammals from Africa at the end of the Pliocene - the beginning of the Pleistocene (2 - 1.5 million years ago) was directly related to significant climatic changes - the beginning of the next cold snap, which led to the formation of the most extensive ice sheets in Eurasia in the Pleistocene. But a cold snap, leading to glaciation in high latitudes and a sharp deterioration in living conditions, in low latitudes, on the contrary, causes a noticeable softening of the climate, and, first of all, an increase in atmospheric precipitation, which, accordingly, has the most favorable effect on natural conditions. Thus, on the site of the modern, practically lifeless sands of the Sahara during the Pleistocene glaciations, the savanna stretched, where life was raging, and hippos were basking in the sun in numerous lakes. In addition, during cold snaps across the expanses of Europe and Asia, not occupied by ice sheets, giant herds of large mammals roamed - an inexhaustible source of food for ancient people. All this significantly expanded the limits of their distribution.

The formation of glaciers contributed to the accumulation of huge masses of water - the waters of the oceans were shrinking, but after the ice melted, the water returned to them again. This caused general, so-called eustatic, sea level fluctuations. During the glacial period, it went down - according to various estimates, by 85 - 120 meters in relation to the modern one, exposing land bridges, through which people could, for example, penetrate the islands of Southeast Asia.

Here, it seemed, was an explanation of how a cofferdam might have formed at the site of the Strait of Gibraltar. But, unfortunately, it should be noted that the largest glaciers in terms of their volumes were formed not 1 - 1.5 million years ago, but much later - about 300 thousand years ago, in the Middle Pleistocene. During the maximum glaciation, the tongues of ice sheets crept up to 48 ° N in the East European Plain, and as far as 37 ° N in North America. That is, in the period of interest to us, if there was a shallowing of the Strait of Gibraltar, it was not as noticeable as we would like. With a not too large width of Gibraltar of 14 - 44 kilometers, there are very significant depths (the greatest depth is 1181 meters) with a very narrow shelf zone, that is, we have a narrow and deep trench between the two continents.

And what happened in living nature? About two million years ago, in the region of North Africa and Western Asia, animals very willingly set out on a journey in search of more attractive habitats or, taking advantage of a favorable environment, expanded their possessions. As usual, herbivores marched in front, gradually moving through the vast pastures. Following them, for their legitimate prey, predators started up, and man did not lag behind.

At that time, there were two streams - from Africa to Asia and back. The place of intersection and mixing of these streams was the Arabian Peninsula. Here in the late Pliocene lived a very peculiar fauna of mammals, in which animals mixed in a bizarre way - both natives of Africa and Asia. African migrants, taking advantage of the favorable environment, moved further and further north and east and, in particular, reached the Caucasus. This is evidenced by the finds at the Dmanisi site of the remains of such African animals as a giraffe and an ostrich.

Given this movement of animals, we can confidently consider the Dmanisi man as a native of Africa.

At the same time, in European localities of ancient faunas, African elements, as well as European ones in African ones, are extremely small, which indicates a very insignificant direct exchange between Africa and Europe.

In recent years, a group of British scientists have conducted a study of possible routes of migration of animals from Africa, analyzing data on fossil finds, modern distribution, as well as on the study of mitochondrial DNA. The main conclusion reached by these researchers: over the past 2 million years, the main routes of distribution of the overwhelming majority of animals from Africa to Europe were carried out in a roundabout way - around the Mediterranean through Western Asia and the Balkans.

One of the most striking examples of this, in addition to numerous paleontological findings, is the study of the mitochondrial DNA of modern bats. These animals from North Africa are much closer to their relatives from the Canary Islands, from Turkey and from the Balkans than to the inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula. There is a small group of animals that undoubtedly crossed, perhaps more than once, by swimming, Gibraltar - these are some amphibians and reptiles. As excellent swimmers, they are most likely the exception that proves the rule.

As the Spanish paleontologist Jan van der Made notes in his work, settlement through the sea strait 1-1.5 million years ago is very difficult to prove, even if the distance between the shores of the strait was small, the other side was visible and there was an island in the strait, the existence of which made it is possible to cross the channel in two "steps". Both geological and geographical confirmation of this theory only indicate that migration across the strait was possible, but in no way prove that it actually took place.

Indeed, in nature there are many examples when it is possible to prove the dispersal of animals by crossing the sea space. For example, migrations to the islands. Such small animals as mice, which no one would suspect of the ability to overcome the huge, and not only in comparison with their own size, sea spaces, reached the Canary Islands, while covering a distance of 7 - 90 kilometers. Of course, they were unlikely to overcome this by swimming, but they could well use natural rafts, such as tree trunks.

Ancient elephants sailed to Cyprus, while overcoming the sea space at a distance of more than 60 kilometers, and this is confirmed by the finds of fossil remains. Deer were also good colonizers, their fossils were found in Crete, although it is very difficult to accurately determine the distance that they had to travel to reach Crete due to significant tectonic activity in this region (according to some estimates, the magnitude of horizontal displacements was about 30 - 60 kilometers).

Other animals were not as capable travelers and could not cross such large bodies of water, but large cats, for example, covered distances of up to 20 kilometers.

Thus, we have good examples of the possibility of crossing sea spaces by different animals. And here a very reasonable question arises: why was this not in the Gibraltar region? Why was it a major obstacle throughout the Pleistocene?

Perhaps, according to the Spanish researcher, this was due to a very strong surface current in the strait, which greatly complicated the possibility of crossing.

In fact, all the arguments put forward against the penetration of animals into Europe through Gibraltar are also true for refuting the theory of human settlement in the same way. For most of the Mediterranean islands, the earliest evidence of the presence of ancient humans dates back to the late Pleistocene and Holocene and is mostly (if not always) associated with the species Homo sapiens.

Of course, as evidence of the ability of ancient people to overcome large open sea spaces, we can consider the finds on the island of Flores (Indonesia). But no matter how ancient man reached this very remote island, later this species developed in complete isolation and eventually became extinct. If, upon reaching the island, the ancient people used any kind of floating craft, then why did they subsequently lose the ability to create and use them? If the body of water was crossed by swimming, then it must be borne in mind that covering a sufficiently large distance in tropical waters is still much easier than crossing Gibraltar, albeit not so wide, during the Ice Age. Of course, it is likely that individual human individuals could well cross the strait: willingly, in an effort to find new hunting grounds, or involuntarily, carried away by storm waves. But they couldn't create a viable population.

Surely the people who stood on the African coast were attracted by its unexplored land, separated from them by only a few kilometers of water - it seems that just a little bit, and you can reach that coast. But to get to the Iberian Peninsula, they had to, like Alice through the looking glass, move in the opposite direction - through the Middle East, the Balkans - around the Mediterranean Sea.

The complex of caves of Sterkfontein, Svartkrans, Kromdraya, Makapan, Taung, where fossils of 2.3 million years ago were discovered, and the surrounding area are known as the World Heritage Site of the Cradle of Humanity. This area covers an area of more than 47,000 hectares and is located northwest of Johannesburg. More than 17,000 fossils have been found here.

This area is of outstanding value, as it contains a complex of paleo-anthropological sites that have provided valuable evidence of the origin of modern people - hence its name "Cradle of Humanity". Currently, more than 200 caves have been discovered in the park (13 of which are already well studied), where fossils of the ancestors of humans and wild animals that became extinct several million years ago were found. A variety of stone tools used by ancient people such as axes and scrapers are found here. Fossils of ancient extinct animals such as the short-necked giraffe, giant buffalo, giant hyena and several species of saber-toothed tigers have been discovered. Numerous fossils of extant animals such as the leopard and antelope were also found.

In 1935, Robert Broome found the first fossils at Sterkfontein Cave. Here, evidence was obtained for the existence of the African Australopithecus, who lived about 4-2 million years ago. Scientists believe that these hominids (bipedal monkeys) were the ancestors of humans. Hominids may have lived throughout Africa, but their remains have only been found in places where the conditions were suitable for preserving the remains.

In this area, the fossils of another hominid species were also found - a massive paranthropus, which is considered an extinct branch of the family tree of human development. The "working man", who lived about 1,000,000 years ago, is more likely the direct ancestor of "Homo sapiens" than Australopithecus, with a very close resemblance to modern humans.

The Cradle of Humanity is one of the most visited attractions in South Africa.

It is believed that all modern humanity came from Africa. It was on this continent at the end of the last century that the most ancient bone remains of people were found. Recently, however, this hypothesis has been shaken by new discoveries. Researchers today provide many arguments for and against the "African version".

Darwin, Men and Monkeys

This version is supported, first of all, by the genetic diversity of African peoples. So, in Africa live the most bizarre tribes in the world. For example, among the aborigines there are stories about agogwe - hairy humanoid creatures. If you believe the legends, you can find agogwe in the forests of Ussur and Simbiti, located in the western part of the Wembeir plains. Eyewitnesses report that the creatures look like pygmies, but their body is completely covered with reddish hair. Despite the fact that the growth of agogwe does not exceed 120 centimeters, the locals never confuse them with monkeys. Agogwe are erect and live with their offspring in the jungle.

Evidence of various tribes of wild people comes from East Africa, in particular from Tanzania and Mozambique. But they are called differently everywhere. Thus, the people of the Congo call them kakundakari and ki-lomba. They also walk on two legs, are covered with hair and live in the forest, but their height is much taller than that of the agogwe (about 168 centimeters).

Inhabitants of the eastern and southeastern regions of Africa claim that creatures of ordinary height are found there, sometimes covered with hair and sometimes without hair. The locals call them "nanaunder". The forehead of these creatures is slightly sloping, and the arms are very long, which gives them some resemblance to monkeys. Nanaunder are found mainly in Zaire and Kenya. They also live in thickets of forests or in the impenetrable tropics of the highlands. They feed mainly on plant foods and do not attack humans. Sometimes they were noticed with long sticks in their hands, with the help of which nanaunder, probably, defend themselves from predators. According to scientists, these harmless creatures once lived in the savannah, but then were driven out of there by man into the jungle.

In a primitive way of life, the agogwe and their "relatives" resemble both Australopithecus and Homo erectus. But the latter lived, respectively, 800,000 and 200,000 years ago. Some experts even suggest that Australopithecines were fluent in speech and knew how to use fire. However, there is no evidence of this. Maybe the rumors about forest "little men" owe their origin to the tribe of Australopithecus, who survived in the wilderness of virgin forests?

But there are also the results of archaeological research. In archeology, it is axiomatic that the most ancient people of the modern type lived in the Upper Paleolithic era. No traces of Upper Paleolithic cultures have yet been found on the African continent. The first people appeared there only in the Neolithic era (VII millennium BC). From this it follows that modern man mastered Africa later than all other territories, excluding, of course, Antarctica ... Finds of ancient remains belonging to the so-called Olduvai culture, which existed two million years ago, are not associated with the modern branch of humanity.

Recently, the object of research was a fragment of a skeleton discovered by Russian archaeologists in the Denisova Cave in Altai. It was part of the finger of a child aged five to seven years, who lived about 44 thousand years ago.

A fragment of the finger of a prehistoric child (that on closer examination turned out to be a girl) was sent to the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Director of the Department of Evolutionary Genetics Svante Paabo said that "the findings have exceeded all expectations." "It seems too fantastic to be true," he added.

Simultaneously with the fragment of the phalanx of the finger, other artifacts were found, indicating a sufficiently high level of human development of that era. So, among the finds come across jewelry, including a stone bracelet and a ring carved from marble. In the manufacture of these products, such techniques as stone boring, machine drilling, grinding were used ... On the territory of Africa, again, no traces of such technologies associated with such distant eras were found ...

However, these are not the only finds that tarnished the reputation of the "African version". On the territory of Northern China, during excavations at the famous "Chinese Wall", a woman's mummy was found. Researchers from the University of Washington in St. Louis and the Institute of Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of Vertebrates, having studied the remains, which are about 40 thousand years old, came to the conclusion that humanity appeared simultaneously on all continents, and did not at all spread across the planet from a single center - Africa ...

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