The University of the Witwatersrand, the Gauteng Provincial Government and the South African government have announced that, for the first time in history, the process of exploring and uncovering fossil remains will be conducted live, captured on video, and conveyed to the world in real time.

This follows last week’s fossil discovery by scientists from the Wits Institute for Human Evolution based at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, of a large rock containing significant parts of a skeleton of an early human ancestor.
The skeleton is believed to be the remains of ‘Karabo’, the type skeleton of Australopithecus sediba, discovered by Professor Lee Berger – a renowned palaeoanthropologist at the University of the Witwatersrand – at the Malapa site in the Cradle of Humankind in 2009.

“This discovery will almost certainly make Karabo the most complete early human ancestor skeleton ever discovered,” said Professor Berger. “The remains are invisible to the casual observer and are entrenched in a large rock about one metre in diameter. It was discovered almost three years ago but lay unnoticed in the Wits laboratories until early last month.”

A laboratory studio, designed in collaboration with the National Geographic Society, will be built at the Maropeng Visitor Centre in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.
“The public will be able to participate fully in live science and future discoveries as they occur in real time – an unprecedented moment in palaeoanthropology. The laboratory studio will be also linked to laboratories at Wits University and the Malapa site,” explained Berger.

 “We intend to create virtual ‘outposts’ in major partner museums around the world,” according to Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Qedani Mahlangu. “These outposts will allow visitors to these partner museums the chance to interact with scientists in real time in a way we simply could not conceive of a few years ago. It is anticipated that the laboratory and virtual infrastructure will be built within a year, expanding our ambitious tourism and smart province infrastructure programme.”
Berger added that negotiations had begun with the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, the Natural History Museum in the United Kingdom and the Smithsonian in Washington. “We have already donated casts of Australopithecus sediba to these three institutions, among others. It has also just been confirmed that one of the virtual outposts will be hosted in the new Shanghai Natural History Museum, due to open later this year.”

 “It’s breathtaking to actually ‘see the future’ using technology. It unlocks the potential for us to make ambitious plans to share this find with other scientists and with the public. Such an endeavour is quite literally changing the way we conduct science, and it’s a wonderful opportunity to share this magnificent discovery with the world,” concluded Berger.