Geological and Geomorphological Research at the Cradle of Humankind – Sterkfontein Caves

An IFAS-Research / University of Pretoria Seminar

by Laurent Bruxelles (Inrap | CNRS)

23 May 2018 | 14:30

University of Pretoria

Department of Geology, Mineral Sciences Bldg., Lombaard Hall

Dr. Laurent Bruxelles is a geomorphologist and geoarchaeologist at INRAP (Institut National de Recherches Archéologiques Préventives), is associated to the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies at Wits University, and is currently a senior researcher at IFAS-Recherche in Johannesburg.

While Dr Laurent Bruxelles is first and foremost a geomorphologist, he has carried out extensive collaborative scientific collaborations alongside archaeologists, particularly in South Africa. Dr Bruxelles is notably involved at the Cradle of Humankind (Gauteng), where he collaborated with the University of the Witwatersrand to use innovative dating techniques and geological analysis to establish the age of Little Foot, the Australopithecus fossil skeleton found in the cave system of Sterkfontein. Dr Bruxelles’ international research collaboration projects are still ongoing at Cradle excavation sites such as Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, Cooper’s Cave and Gondolin.