In 2025, 12 ground-breaking publications by women of colour at HERI (UCT) reshaped debates across palaeoanthropology, archaeology, geochronology, and planetary geology, marking a significant change in who is leading palaeoscience research. Learn more: www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

Historic moment! A/Prof @pickeringrobyn.bsky.social, HERI Co-director, will deliver the 2026 Alex du Toit Lecture Series, the first female to do so since 1969. The series honours Alexander du Toit, a South African geology pioneer and early champion of continental drift theory. Dates on the flyer

Last year, HERI contributed to the @SAJS special issue marking 100 years of the #TaungChild. With abstracts in #Setswana, the issue gave multilingual insights into science, colonialism & exclusion. Read more reflections from the SAJS Editor-in-Chief: mailchi.mp/assaf/gknccq...

HERI Co-Directors Rebecca Ackermann and Robyn Pickering invite contributions to the symposium “New Directions in Palaeoanthropological Research in Southern Africa” at IPC7. To submit an abstract, please email the convenors. Details and information on all 29 symposia are available at: www.ipc7.site

🎉 Big congratulations to our HERI MSc student, Marang Keebine, for receiving the Best Student Poster Award at the BIOGRIP 2026 conference (UCT, 28–30 January)! Wishing her continued success in her research journey!

#WomeninScience in #SouthAfrica ⚒️ HERI Master’s student Marang Keebine studies past #climate & environmental change using sediments from an ancient lake in the Karoo. Her work sheds light on how dry landscapes responded to drought and rainfall – and how we can respond today.

Thrilled to share that the 2025 SAJS paper with the highest attention score was led by our @palaeoprotpalesa.bsky.social, with nearly 4,000 abstract views! The study identified 2 Myr-old proteins from Paranthropus robustus, revealing biological sex & genetic variability sajs.co.za/article/view...

Reminder: ASAPA abstract deadline 31 Jan ⏰ We invite abstracts for our session on the Pleistocene record of the Kalahari and interior southern Africa, including comparative studies with other regions of southern Africa or Africa. Submit via the ASAPA portal: asapa2026.co.za/submissions....

Did you know? Early humans in #SouthAfrica were making spears 500,000 years ago. These stone points from the #archaeology site of Kathu Pan 1 have impact damage, hafting marks & shapes perfectly suited for spear use — revealing surprisingly advanced weapon technology.

Imagine surviving in the Kalahari thousands of years ago—one of #Africa’s driest environments. Evidence shows that early humans didn’t just endure it; they adapted with remarkable skill. 🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content/surviving-the-drylands-stone-tools-as-evidence-of-early-social-networks

New work by HERI's @drpeechiwara.bsky.social & colleagues reviews Middle Stone Age evidence in #Africa to explore how early humans built complex social networks Looking at context & patterns, the paper sheds light on the deep roots of human cooperation & collaboration. doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Women in science in #Africa 🌍 Christina Mutinda, a HERI PhD candidate at @UCT_news, explores how early humans adapted to changing environments. Using fossils, isotopes and ecological clues, she reconstructs East Africa’s Early Pleistocene habitats, when Paranthropus boisei roamed.

HERI’s Dr Rieneke Weij has led a rare update of U-Th & U-Pb dating in palaeoscience. Published with our Dr Tara Edwards, the review highlights advances & potential for carbonate geochronology — and the implications for #humanevolution research. www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

105,000 years ago, Homo sapiens left their mark at Gamohana Hill North Rockshelter in the Kalahari. They crafted points from galaxy tuff, a 2.4-billion-year-old glass-like stone. Not just a rock, but evidence of skill, planning, and ingenuity. 📖 Read more at www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...

HERI’s Drs @drpeechiwara.bsky.social & Ben Schoville are organising a session at ASAPA 2026 on Pleistocene adaptations in the Kalahari and other interior drylands of southern Africa. Researchers working in these regions are invited to submit abstracts and join the discussion. asapa2026.co.za

New publication alert!‼️ Wrapping up 2025 with my fifth paper of the year in the SAJS! The paper reviews how stone tools reveal social connections, noting similar patterns can also arise independently and suggesting ways to better distinguish the two. 💫 🔗 doi.org/10.17159/saj...

Why is #TaungChild one of the most important fossils in the world? Find out in our new podcast, which tells the story of how one fossil challenged colonial narratives & scientific authority to show human origins lie in #Africa Listen to all episodes now🔊 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

ASAPA 2026 Call for Abstracts is open! Ben Schoville and I are organising a session on Pleistocene adaptations in the Kalahari and other interior drylands of southern Africa. Working in these landscapes? We’d love your contribution. Submit here: asapa2026.co.za Deadline: 31 Jan 2026

Ancient tooth proteins reveal the biological sex and genetic diversity of Paranthropus robustus. Led by Dr. Palesa Madupe of the University of Copenhagen and UCT’s HERI, this study provides the oldest human genetic data from Africa. 🔗 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Flowstones from the Cradle of Humankind in #SouthAfrica reveal no evidence of intrusion. New work, led by HERI’s Georgina Luti, counters arguments that the flowstones are uniform & intrusive, adding support for their role in dating fossils. 🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

🦴 The #TaungChild fossil changed how we understand human origins in #Africa. Its story is shaped by prejudice, rivalry and hidden hands. 🎧 Unburied Season 2: The Taung Child from HERI and ARC explores its history and legacy. Listen here 👉 linktr.ee/arcdocs

Science is stronger when every voice is heard. At HERI, diversity drives discovery, challenges assumptions, and creates richer stories of our shared human story.

Applications are open for the 2025 Student Development Workshop (SDW) at Skukuza, Kruger National Park! 🌿🦓 A great opportunity for students in archaeology & heritage management. 📅 6–10 Dec 2025 See details on SAASS social media & website: www.saassarchaeology.com/upcoming-eve...

Africa’s caves are timekeepers of climate and life. 🌍 An all-women research team, led by HERI’s Georgina Luti, has revealed how rock layers called speleothems record shifts in Africa’s past and help us date fossils more reliably. #WomenInScience & rooted in Africa.

HERI brings #Africa to the heart of #humanevolution research, blending innovation, inclusivity and transformative training. From ancient biomolecules to archaeology, we’re shaping a more ethical and African-centered science.

The #TaungChild has been silent for over 2 million years — until now. Our new podcast takes you back to 1924 #SouthAfrica, where one fossil would upend colonial narratives to centre human origins #Africa. 🌍Unburied Season 2: The Taung Child 🔗 Listen: linktr.ee/arcdocs

HERI made a podcast! 🎧 With ARC DOCS we bring the #TaungChild story to life - not for academics but everyone interested in humanity. Commemorate 100 years since the fossil centred human origins in #Africa by listening NOW! Unburied Season 2🔗 Listen linktr.ee/arcdocs

📍 Sunday morning at #campHERI, camping at the West Coast Fossil Park: Participants took part in a stone tool knapping exercise, engaging with ancient technologies through hands-on learning in an immersive outdoor setting.

Meet the #campHERI 2025 crew! These are the amazing participants from yesterday’s 3MT session and Sexual Harassment Workshop.

This sexual harassment workshop, led by our Co-director Rebecca Ackermann, is one of the most important parts of #campHERI. The session invites women to share experiences, learnings and concerns about harassment in the field.

How does a #PhD student condense years of research into a three-minute presentation? #campHERI is thrilled to have @kerrynwarren show us how! Kerryn is the past winner of the @3MT_official competition Science category for her work in #archaeology. #campHeri

#campHERI is here! Today is the start of our annual camp that gives students from UCT and partner institutions a safe and supportive environment to develop skills, build community & address challenges faced in field-based sciences.

📢 Podcast news! The #TaungChild proved our roots lie in #Africa but its story is tangled in colonial bias & forgotten voices. Listen to the full story with Unburied Podcast Season 2 from HERI and ARC DOCS 🎧 Unburied Season 2 Episode 1 out NOW 📆 New Episodes on Thursdays 🔗 Listen linktr.ee/arcdocs

This is HERi Member Linda Mbeki! She gave the #BABAO2025 keynote titled: From bones to ancestors: Embodiment, structural violence & social justice. The lecture explored past practices in #archaeology with reflections on how #research in the future can be done with - and not on - communities.

Dominant theories of #humanevolution say our ancestors evolved behaviours seen as ‘modern’ 100,000 years ago along the #SouthAfrican coast. What if we could flip that narrative? HERI researchers did just that in 2021 with this @nature.com paper: doi.org/10.1038/s415...

Researchers including HERI's Dr Palesa Madupe have opened a new window into #humanevolution studies. Using palaeoproteomics, they uncovered some of the oldest human genetic data from #Africa - sparking an exciting future for early hominin research.

This is what #womeninscience look like! Our @drpeechiwara.bsky.social is extracting a quartzite block to be geochemically tested. Part of her #postdoc field work, the aim is to pinpoint where raw materials used to make ESA & MSA stone tools in Kalahari of #SouthAfrica were obtained.

Palaeoanthropology asks profound questions: Who are we? What makes us human? Too often, answering these answers has been done by a privileged few. Our Rebecca Ackermann calls for that to change - toward feminist palaeoanthropology. #diversityinscience

Our Robyn Pickering has spent the past decade refining radiometric dating of fossils from flowstones. The work has enabled researchers to date cave sites in #SouthAfrica -- and supports theories that at least two types of hominins co-existed. Read more: www.science.org/content/arti...

In 1908 Austrian Dr Rudolf Pöch took remains of indigenous people from the Kalahari region & used the bones for race science. Unburied - the NEW podcast from Iziko Museums #SouthAfrica - explores how this shaped the lives of indigenous communities here & globally 🔊👇🏾https://www.arcdocs.org/unburied

www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025... Sent with my Daily Maverick App (app.dailymaverick.co.za) @heriuct.bsky.social

Enamel proteins reveal biological sex and genetic variability in southern African Paranthropus www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

🧬NEW: Our Dr Palesa Madupe & colleagues retrieved some of the oldest human genetic data from #Africa They identify 2million year-old protein remains from Paranthropus robustus to reveal its biological sex & genetic variability Read about this breakthrough in human evolution studies: bit.ly/3HiOgqP

These are ancient waterfalls in the now-dry Kalahari. Called tufas, HERI researchers have dated them to between 110,000 to 100,000 years ago - exactly when evidence of modern humans was found nearby. Read more of their findings here: https://buff.ly/49idakk

Helping produce #Setswana translations for this #Taung Child special issue from @SAJS_Official was a very special project for us. Thanks to all for their support #languagematters 👉🏾https://sajs.co.za/article/view/20667/23562

So proud of this #Taung Child special issue from the South African Journal of Science (SAJS). And having our Co-directors Rebecca Ackermann & @pickeringrobyn.bsky.social along with HERI's Lauren Schroeder and UCT's Yonatan Sahle supporting to guest edit the special issue. sajs.co.za/article/view...

Happening in 10 minutes! 👇🏾 Celbrate today's 100-year anniversary of the discovery of the #Taung Child skull with the #palaeoanthropology community in #SouthAfrica🌍 Starting at 15.00 SAST / 08.00 EST Register here: bit.ly/4hyV28M

The story of Taung Child should be told by South Africans, for South Africans, and from #SouthAfrica. Join us to commemorate the light #Taung shines on our heritage & shared origins. ➡️Friday 7 Feb at 15.00 SAST / 08.00 EST 🌍Register here: bit.ly/4hyV28M

This February is the 100-year anniversary of the discovery of the #Taung Child skull. Join the #palaeoanthropology community in #SouthAfrica to commemorate at this free online webinar. Happening Friday 7 Feb at 15.00 SAST / 08.00 EST Register here: bit.ly/4hyV28M

How is HERI building a cohort of black womxn researchers in human evolution studies? Read more in the Unviersity of Cape Town 2023 #Sustainability & #SDGs report 👉🏾http://bit.ly/SDGReport2023