| Minnaar's Cave | |
|---|---|
  Location in Gauteng | |
| Location | Gauteng, South Africa |
| Nearest city | Krugersdorp |
| Coordinates | 25°59′24″S27°46′23″E / 25.99000°S 27.77306°E /-25.99000; 27.77306 |
| Area | 8,592 m2 (2.123 acres) |
| Elevation | 1,540 m (5,050 ft) |
| Established | 1999, World Heritage Site November 2004, National Heritage Site |
| Governing body | Cradle of Humankind |
Minnaar's Cave, or simplyMinnaar, is apalaeontological site located in theCradle of HumankindWorld Heritage Site,Gauteng province, South Africa. Lost after its discovery in the 1930s, its location was rediscovered in 2009. It is known for its well-preservedjackal skulls, dating to thePlio-Pleistocene at least 2 million years ago.
Minnaar's Cave is located about 1 km (0.62 mi) north-northeast ofSterkfontein and 3 km (1.9 mi) fromKromdraai,palaeoarchaeological sites also in the Cradle of Humankind. It covers an area of 8,592 m2 (2.123 acres), making it the smallest known site in the Cradle of Humankind. It is bordered to the south by the Blaauwbank River.[1] The site is dated to thePlio-Pleistocene, about 2 Ma.[2]
Minnaar's Cave area was first used as alime mine in the early 20th century. A lime-burning kiln from this era is still on the site. There is also a graveyard dating back to the 1920s that is unrelated to the mine.[1] PalaeontologistRobert Broom first explored Minnaar's Cave sometime between 1936 and 1939 during his expeditions into theTransvaal region in search ofhominid fossils, but Broom only listed its location as "a cave about a mile away fromSterkfontein".[3] Broom recovered 148 specimens from Minnaar's Cave, including a fossilizedThos antiquus (jackal) skull, which has been extensively studied by palaeontologists as the species'stype specimen, albeit with no precise knowledge of its exact origins. Researchers attempted to rediscover the site multiple times over the subsequent decades, but the vague descriptions and field notes caused confusion. Different accounts variably placed Minnaar's Cave north, west, and east of Sterkfontein. It was theorized that Minnaar's Cave was actually another site called Hadeco, but this was dismissed as Hadeco was too distant from Sterkfontein.[3]
In August 2009, a team from theDitsong National Museum of Natural History inPretoria explored a site on private property that corresponded with descriptions of Minnaar given by Broom and later researchers.; it was just north of Sterkfontein and yielded fossils similar to those cataloged in the 1930s. Analysis of samples taken from this spot confirmed that this was indeed the lost Minnaar's Cave.[3]
Most specimens from Minnaar are stored at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History.[3]
Most of the specimens recovered from Minnaar's Cave have yet to be extracted from theirbreccialmatrices; however, most of the fossils belong tocanids,primates,bovids,equus, andmicrofauna from thePlio-Pleistocene era. Most notable of these areThos antiquus andCanis mesomelas jackalcrania. Other species found in the Minnaar's Cave collections includeChasmaporthetes silberbergi (hyenas);Papio angusticeps, an extinct species of baboon;Alcelaphinae, possiblyspringboks; several species of the horse genusEquus, particularly the extinctCape horse;[3] andDinofelis barlowi, a sabre-toothed cat.[2]
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