By Meher Castelino
ust as we have the Ajanta and Ellora caves in Aurangabad which tell the history of India in the most beautiful frescos, there are many caves around the world which have documented the past and are a treasure to behold.
We also have the Karla caves in Maharashtra and the Elephanta caves across the sea from Mumbai which tell a great story about the past of India.
When we talk of caves they are normally above the ground which is an easy way to see them when there is enough light to appreciate their beauty. But there are caves which are way down in the bowls of the earth which have been there for millions of years and have tunnels that connect them to form a very intriguing labyrinth of life. One such underground group of caves is in South Africa near Johannesburg which we got a chance to see and travel through.
A few minutes’ drive from Maropeng were the Sterkfontein caves. Now here was an adventure of the ultimate kind. We were going to climb deep into the bowels of the earth and move through tunnels almost crouched on all fours. Our guide advised that those who disliked tiny spaces and felt claustrophobic should stay on top and enjoy the drizzling rain in the restaurant.
But I was not going to miss this chance of seeing something that is millions of years old and even though I dislike close rooms I ventured forth bravely.
We descended into the underground caves for a 40 minute tour of life nearly 4 million years ago that started with the birth of humanity. Is this how our ancestors really lived? Is this how mankind really began? So many questions that made us marvel at our evolution to the present times of air travel, internet and flights to space. The narrow passages through which we crawled is where the scientists of the University of Witwatersrand discovered thousands of hominid and animal fossils dating back 4 million years.
The most important and most famous of these fossils are Mrs. Ples, a 2.5 million-year-old australopithecine skull and ‘Little Foot’ an almost complete australopithecine skeleton that is around 4.17 million-years-old. These fossils are immensely important as they have allowed scientists to understand how and in what circumstances modern humans have evolved.
It was amazing the way history of a million years is preserved by all the countries of the world. They seem to want to hang on to the past and learn from it and also appreciate the way our forefathers lived. As we discovered our ancestors and roots and marvelled at the evolution of mankind, our trip brought us to the present and back to good old modern Mother Earth as we drank cold coffee at the open air restaurant above the caves and then drove back to Johannesburg contemplating on how our successors will one day see us thousands of years into the future? Will we leave behind information that will be so prehistoric for them that they will pity us or …..?
