The 46th Session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recently proclaimed World Heritage status for three sites in the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal.
This was part of the South African nomination, The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa.
The successful inscription of these three Middle Stone Age sites acknowledges the significant contribution to understanding the beginnings of contemporary human behaviour.
The three sites are:
- Diepkloof Rock Shelter close to Elands Bay in the Western Cape
- Pinnacle Point Site Complex in Mossel Bay in the Western Cape
- Sibhudu Cave in KwaDukuza in KwaZulu-Natal
Western Cape Provincial Minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, Ricardo Mackenzie, said: The exceptional preservation of these sites , amidst the challenges of climate change and rising sea levels stand as testaments to our ancestors resilience, ingenuity, and adaptation to environmental changes.
