Durban — The Sibudu Cave, a rock shelter in a cliff face above the oThongathi River, which was first occupied by modern humans at least 77 000 years ago, has been declared a World Heritage Site.
The Sibudu Cave has become the third World Heritage Site to be declared by the Unesco World Heritage Committee in KwaZulu-Natal, joining the Drakensberg Mountain and Isimangaliso Wetland Park, and the 12th in the country.
The cave, which is situated 40 kilometres north of Durban, was given World Heritage status together with the Western Cape’s Diepkloof Rock Shelter and the Pinnacle Point Site Complex, at the 46th session of the Unesco World Heritage Committee on Friday.
The three sites are part of the South African nomination, “The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa.”
The Sibudu Cave holds records of prehistoric human occupation that extend back at least 77 000 years.
The humans who occupied the cave created human-made sediments which are still showcased in the cave, marked by thousands of artefacts left behind by Homo sapiens during the species’ formative years.
It is one of the country’s most important archaeological sites. It also shows evidence of some of the earliest human innovations including the earliest bone and stone arrowheads dating back to over 60 000 years.
Among those overjoyed with the news was KwaDukuza Mayor Lindile Nhaca.
“This is another formidable achievement which underscores the origins of human behaviour. These are certainly our most defining and cherished moments that must be celebrated as they help bridge the gap between the traumatic past of our forebears and our unified future.
“The Sibudu Cave will reconnect the people of the world and provide avenues for interaction and social understanding of prehistoric human life – a true expression of our rich history and cultural heritage which adds more chapters to the South African heritage landscape. The cave remains a prestigious embodiment of prehistoric life and the modern world; a priceless gem which underscores the world’s most valued archaeological treasures is here at home,” said Nhaca.
According to Unesco, the chosen sites provide the most varied and best-preserved records 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,” said Unesco on its internet site.
In addition, Unesco added the scene of an apartheid-era massacre and a village where Nelson Mandela lived as a boy to its World Heritage List, in an entry honouring South Africa’s Struggle that ended white-minority rule 30 years ago.
The new listing is made up of 14 locations across South Africa grouped by Unesco as “Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Legacy Sites”.
They include the scene of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre when police shot dead 69 black protesters, including children, in a turning point in the Struggle that led the apartheid government to ban the ANC.
Also on the list is the University of Fort Hare in the Eastern Cape where anti-apartheid figurehead Mandela studied and the remote village of Mqhekezweni where he said in his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, that his political activism was first stirred.
Unesco director-general Audrey Azoulay said: “I congratulate South Africa on the inscription of these sites of memory, which bear witness not only to the Struggle against the apartheid state, but also to Nelson Mandela’s contribution to freedom, human rights and peace on behalf of us all.”
Sunday Tribune