The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa World Heritage Site

Official name

The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa | UNESCO

Country

South Africa | Map

Continent

Africa

Location

-32.3863° Lat, 18.4525° Lon | Map

Code

1723

Time Zone

Africa/Johannesburg (SAST, +0200)

Current Time

Category

Cultural

Description

Inscribed 2024. This serial property contributes to the understanding of the origin of behaviourally modern humans, their cognitive abilities and cultures, and the climatic transitions that they survived. It is composed of three dispersed archaeological sites, Diepkloof Rock Shelter, Pinnacle Point Site Complex, and Sibhudu Cave, located in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal provinces of South Africa. These sites provide the most varied and best-preserved record known of the development of modern human behaviour, reaching back as far as 162,000 years. Symbolic thought and advanced technologies are exemplified by evidence of ochre processing, engraved patterns, decorative beads, decorated eggshells, advanced projectile weapons and techniques for toolmaking, and microliths.