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Cradle of Humankind, South Africa

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World Heritage Site first named by UNESCO in 1999, about 50 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg, South Africa

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a site that in the past has produced a large number and some of the oldest hominid fossils ever found, some dating back as far as 3.5 million years ago

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Rising Star expedition

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end of 2013

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recovered over 1000 hominid bone fossils

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cave discovered in early October 2013

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National Geographic Explorer Lee Berger

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exploration team leader Pedro Boshoff

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found slot he couldn't get into

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enlisted Rick Hunter and Steve Tucker, two cavers were able to get into it and climb down

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a 12 meter downward climb, at narrowest points only 16 centimeters wide

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at the bottom of the slot were bones

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bones were identified as an early hominid

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they needed cavers who could professionally document and pack the bones to take them back out

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six women team

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cavern is 30 meters underground

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discovered that the bones were not from one individual, but but from many

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a very modern expedition: twitter feeds as bones come out of the cave, multiple blogs by the cavers, archeologists, and anthropologists, skyping with schools around the world