Archaeologists have found evidence that Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa may identify as the oldest home in human history. Canadian and Israeli researchers have unearthed the earliest evidence of human occupation in the cave, dating back about two million years until nearly modern times.
The archaeologists, who have published their report in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, believe that the cave was among the sites of the earliest indoor uses of fire and hand axes. That report is authored by Ron Shaar, Ari Matmon, Liora Kolska Horwitz, Yael Ebert, and Michael Chazan.
Wonderwerk Cave was first excavated in the 1940s, and since then it has remained a subject of fascination for researchers around the world. Previous studies at the cave have focused on the crystals found in its depths and works of art on its walls.
“We have evidence for unusual symbolic activity in Wonderwerk dating around 400,000–500,000 years ago, which predates Middle Stone Age sites like Blombos,” Chazan said. “People were sitting at the back of the cave, 140 meters from the entrance. They don’t appear to have been making tools there.”