NO UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY mares A scientist bringsfossils out from Rising Star Cave
CHAPTER ONE The Women of Rising Star Cave On On October 7 2013 an ad appeared on Facebook It said We need perhaps three or four individuals with excellent archaeological paleontological and excavation skills for a short term project The catch is this the person must be skinny and preferably small They must not be claustrophobic they must be fit they should have some caving experience climbing experience would be a bonus They must be willing to work in cramped quarters Lee Berger had posted the ad No one knew what the job entailed but everyone interested in early human fossils knew Berger As a paleoanthropologist he studies human ancestors dating back to 4 5 million years BCE Berger explores the region known asthe Cradle of Humankind in South Africa for fossils He hopes these fossils will fill the gaps in information known about early people Marina Elliott felt as if the ad had been written for her She was finishing her PhD at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia Canada and had
already worked on excavations in Alaska and Siberia I was predisposed to extreme environments she says Telling me that I'd have to do climbing that it would be underground and that it would be strange and potentially dangerous it appealed Berger expected very few applications but 57 people from around the world responded within ten days Following a series of Skype interviews Berger selected Elliott and five other female scientists Elen Feuerriegel K Lindsay Eaves Alia Gurtov Hannah Morris and Becca Peixotto would be joining Elliott Women had once been discouraged from becoming scientists but this group would soon help Berger make exciting discoveries Fossils Found Because Berger had made a 2008 cave find in the Cradle of Humankind he believed other local caves might house fossils as well He asked South African cavers to keep their eyes open as they explored In Rising Star Cave in 2013 Steven Tucker and Rick Hunter THE CRADLE OF HUMANKIND Located in South Africa the Cradle of Humankind is a United Nations World climbed a rockfall that formed a Heritage site Scientists believe this is where humankind developed over a period steep ridge Tucker slipped into of four million years Forty percent of human ancestor fossils have been found a crack and pointed his toes to in the Cradle of Humankind Other finds here include stone tools and fossils of plants and animals squeeze through the tight passage into a chamber When Tucker saw bones on the floor he realized
A small discovery by two cavers led Berger to a larger expedition in Rising Star Cave they were not from a bat or other small animal He suspected they had found something important Tucker photographed a jawbone before leaving the cave The cavers took this photo to Berger Even from a photograph Berger knew the bone belonged to a human relative But Berger knew he could never slip through a passage that narrowed to seven inches 18 cm wide He had to find scientists small enough so he turned to social media to get the word out Before the crew could enter Rising Star Cave cavers ran safety lines and fiber optic cables mounting cameras and lights Only the six women would be allowed to enter the fossil chamber but they would be accompanied as far as possible by cavers who would help ensure their safety From
