MAKAPANSGAT

South African valley in which remains of fossil hominids have been found. It lies about 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Potgietersrus, S.Af., and about 150 miles (240 km) north of Sterkfontein, itself a well-known site of australopithecine fossils. The area consists of dolomite cliffs pierced by several caves. A search at Limeworks Cave in 194762 by Raymond Dart revealed the remains of about 40 individuals of Australopithecus africanus, a species of gracile (slender) hominid dating from 2,500,000 to 3,000,000 years ago or more. The nearby Cave of Hearths yielded the right side of an early archaic Homo sapiens child's jaw, of Rhodesioid type, dating from about 100,000 to 200,000 years ago; extremely early evidence of the use of fire by humans in Africa; and tools of the transitional Acheulian-Fauresmith type. Makapansgat is probably the oldest of the known South African cave sites.