The Cradle of Humankind opens windows onto many pasts: onto the origins and evolution of humanity; onto the ever expanding frontiers of science in the fields of palaeontology, geology and genetics; onto the remarkable group of scientists that drove these frontiers forward; onto several of the most momentous and formative moments of South Africa's more recent history, including its peopling by its present African population; and onto the often strange, sometimes tortured psyche of a large slice of white South Africa after it came to dominate the sub-continent in the late 19th century. The Cradle of Humankind can deservedly claim a special status among the heritage sites recording South Africa's past, offering a privileged vantage point from which to understand what it means to be human and what it meant and currently means to be South African.

Amanda Esterhuysen is an archaeologist lecturing in the School of Geography, Archaeology & Environmental Studies at Wits. She is Director of the Archaeological Resource Project through which she has had a long association with Sterkfontein. Together with Philip Bonner and Trefor Jenkins, she has edited and contributed to the recently published book A Search for Origins. She was the first President of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists and is active on university, government and research committees.