The special issue based on our #SAfA2025 conference session is now open for submissions. Participation in the session is not a must 👇

Elena A Hensel-Karamalakidou@geoarchamelie.bsky.social · 3w ago

Anyone planning to publish on open-air sites in southern Africa? Here’s your chance to submit a manuscript to the Special Issue: “Challenges and opportunities of surface sites: The Kalahari basin and adjoining arid regions” of the African Archaeological Review. link.springer.com/collections/...

Check out the new paper „A high-resolution, multi-method palaeoenvironmental record from pan sediments at Maralaleng Pan, southern Kalahari basin” by our lovely postdoc Inèz Faul! Read it #openaccess here journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

A high-resolution, multi-method palaeoenvironmental record from pan sediments at Maralaleng Pan, southern Kalahari basin

Human traces in semi-arid environments such as the Kalahari have been linked to the presence of water in the landscape. However, low organic preservation and an uneven distribution of studied sites ha...

journals.plos.org

Check out our paper on late Holocene microlithic backed tools from Zimbabwe.

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · 2w ago

Microliths from Pomongwe Cave, #Zimbabwe, reveal remarkable human innovation during the late Holocene. Carefully shaped into geometric forms, they reflect the skill, adaptability, and innovation of late Holocene hunter-gatherer communities in Southern #Africa. 🔗 journals.uj.ac.za/index.php/sa...

Happy Heritage Day! Today, 24 September, entry to the Iziko South African Museum is FREE. If you’re in Cape Town, visit the beautiful Humanity exhibition, curated by the HERI team, and explore the story of human evolution. Learn more: www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

Ever wondered how archaeologists excavate? ⛏️ In the Kalahari, uncovering stone tools takes careful excavation, keen observation, and plenty of patience. Working through hard diatomite sediments, every layer removed reveals new clues about life thousands of years ago.

🎓 Congratulations to our HERI #AdvancingWomxn Fellow, Dr Rivoningo Khosa, on graduating with her PhD! This achievement reflects years of dedication, perseverance, and academic excellence. We are proud to celebrate this milestone with Rivoningo and wish her all the best for the journey ahead. 🎉

I’m incredibly pleased to be part of the HERI team that won the National Research Foundation (NRF) 2026 Science Team Award yesterday. It feels so good to have our work honoured and recognised through this prestigious award, and it means a lot, especially to early-career researchers like me.

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · last mo.

🏆 HERI is proud to last night receive the NRF Science Team Award! It recognises contributions to research excellence and key members @pickeringrobyn.bsky.social, Rebecca Ackermann, @drpeechiwara.bsky.social, Wendy Black, Lauren Schroder & Palesa Madupe. 🎉 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

📚 Whose voices shape our past? Drawing on her SAJS review of the book The Untold History and Prehistory of African Indigenous Palaeontology, @drpeechiwara.bsky.social reflects on representation, Indigenous knowledge, and the stories we tell about Africa's past. 🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

Our @pickeringrobyn.bsky.social was the second woman ever to deliver the Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture. Presented across 6 cities in #SouthAfrica, her lecture explores how uranium-series dating transformed our understanding of early human evolution. 🎥 Watch: www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

Our podcast is a model of what it looks like to place African voices at the centre of the #TaungChild fossil discovery, says Justin Pargeter in this SAJS review. 📖 Read the review & listen to all episodes of HERI's Unburied Season 2 FREE here: www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

The future of palaeoscience in #Africa is African🌍 Read this reflection from HERI master’s students Kelly-Anne Shaw & Kirsten Van Der Heyden - who travelled to Kanapoi and Chesowanja in #Kenya as part of a field exchange organised by the PANACHE initiative. www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

📢 New in the latest SAJS! Two contributions connected to HERI: 🎙️ Justin Pargeter reviews the Taung podcast 📚 Precious Chiwara reviews "The Untold History and Prehistory of African Indigenous Palaeontology." sajs.co.za/index.php/sa... sajs.co.za/index.php/sa... More details coming soon!

From the heart of Tswalu Kalahari Reserve, HERI researchers Marang Keebine and @drpeechiwara.bsky.social are helping uncover new evidence of early human behaviour in the #Kalahari. Every discovery adds another piece to our shared human story.

Our HERI Co-Director, @pickeringrobyn.bsky.social, and HERI's @drpeechiwara.bsky.social presented two HERI talks at this week's #ASAPA conference on the Taung Podcast and HERI's All-Women Fieldwork Camp. It was great to hear that these conversations were so well received and considered much needed.

Countdown: Only 5 days to go until ASAPA! 🎉 We can’t wait to welcome everyone to our dedicated Kalahari session!

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · 3mo ago

5 HERI researchers are heading to the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists Conference this weekend! Explore the full programme here - with sessions from our @drpeechiwara.bsky.social and @bschov.bsky.social, among others. 👉 asapa2026.co.za/documents/AS... #ASAPA2026

Hello Hello, If you have some downtime and want to read something excitingly odd, read on the enamel proteins of Homo naledi: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex... Working closely with Alberto, @clairekoenig.bsky.social, @ipatramanis.bsky.social, and the rest of our collaborators was just so wonderful.

Proteomic analysis of dental enamel from 20 Homo naledi individuals shows no male markers

The morphological homogeneity of the middle Pleistocene hominin Homo naledi is reflected in its dental proteome, with no evidence supporting confident identification of male individuals, and the detec...

cell.com

🚨First-ever protein study of Homo Naledi teeth led by HERI’s Dr @palaeoprotpalesa.bsky.social finds zero male markers in 23 samples - suggesting all individuals analysed were female. A major step forward in studying sex differences in extinct species. 🔗 www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

It has been awesome learning some geochemistry at UCT Geological Sciences over the past two years and applying these techniques to answer questions about past human behavior in the Kalahari. Many thanks to Christel Tinguely for the training and for being so patient with me.

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · 4mo ago

Research by HERI’s @drpeechiwara.bsky.social uses ICP-MS & XRF to trace ancient tools from Tswalu to their geological sources, revealing new insights into early human raw material selection. 🔗https://www.heriuct.co.za/news-content/how-icp-ms-and-xrf-methods-help-us-understand-early-human-behaviour

We can’t wait to welcome everyone to this special Kalahari 🏜️ session at ASAPA 2026! Looking forward to inspiring discussions, thought-provoking talks, and sharing exciting new research together. See you there!

Kgalagadi Human Origins Project@khoproject.bsky.social · 5mo ago

The countdown is on - 10 weeks until our field season 2026 in #Botswana #Kaglagadi #Tsabong starts🐫🇧🇼! But first we'll be at the #ASAPA conference at the University of Mpumalanga 🇿🇦presenting two talks in a dedicated Kalahari session organised by @drpeechiwara.bsky.social & @bschov.bsky.social 📊💻

🌍Have you seen the HUMANITY exhibition yet? Launched in partnership between HERI and Iziko Museum, it takes visitors on a journey that explores our diversity and how we became who we are today. More info here: bit.ly/4cNAzvI Open days & hours link: bit.ly/4issDRx

🐝Pollen can reveal ecosystem changes over time. Research led by HERI’s Dr. Tsilavo Razafimanantsoa uses modern pollen rain in #Madagascar to shed light on ancient pollen records - so we can better understand the origins of open ecosystems on the island. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

Since 2019, HERI has run women-focused field camps for archaeology & geology students. Female-led and hands-on, they provide field skills, mentorship, and safe spaces—building confident, resilient researchers ready to study #Africa’s rich heritage.

HERI-led research wins the SAJS (sajournalofscience.bsky.social) Outstanding Article Award 2025. Congratulations 🎉 to @palaeoprotpalesa.bsky.social and co-authors for receiving the award for their Australopithecus africanus palaeoproteomics paper. Read more: www.heriuct.co.za/news-content...

Trailblazing! Congratulations @palaeoprotpalesa.bsky.social 🎊🎊

Palesa@palaeoprotpalesa.bsky.social · 7mo ago

I am deeply grateful for the nomination and the award. I am thrilled that we published the first palaeoproteomics data on Australopithecus africanus, a South African ancient hominin, in the South African Journal (@sajournalofscience.bsky.social). 1/3

Today it's a desert. 105,000 years ago, it held waterfalls & modern homo sapiens The @dailymaverick.co.za looks at work from an all-women team of HERI researchers who challenged theories of #humanevolution to show our ancestors lived in a water-rich Kalahari www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2021...

4/5 of these talented young researchers are in my group 🤩🤩🤩 It’s so rewarding to see all these projects making it to publication. #brag #proudsupervisor

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · 8mo ago

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...

A landmark year, indeed.✨✨👏

Human Evolution Research Institute at University of Cape Town@heriuct.bsky.social · 8mo ago

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