Nompumelelo Maringa

It’s often the little things that show us the big picture

A crucial part of figuring out human evolution is understanding the environment in which our ancestors lived. At the Sterkfontein Caves, archaeozoologist Nompulelelo Maringa focuses on micromammals (rodents to you and me).

“I enjoy unravelling stories from the past, and that’s exactly what we do as archaeologists. I specifically enjoy working with animal bones and deciphering past environments, because we get a glimpse of the climatic conditions that our human ancestors experienced,” says Maringa.

And there is no better place to investigate tiny, ancient mammals than Sterkfontein, Maringa adds. “It is the only region in South Africa with a variety of hominid and hominin fossil discoveries, bringing us closer to understanding changes and evolutionary processes in humans, animals, the landscape and climate.

“It also allows us to register the similarities and differences between other fossil-bearing sites on the continent and around the world for comparative research.”

Maringa is currently working on a new project at Sterkfontein, investigating micromammal material found in Jacovec Cavern. Yes, that includes examining lots of teeny-tiny fossil bones that, perhaps surprisingly, yield large amounts of valuable information – right down to what might have eaten them.

Helping Maringa do this are team members who often fade into the background, but whose contributions are vital and whose knowledge rivals those of the scientists and academics they support.

“The job I think requires more attention than it is given, is that of the fossil preparators and the site technicians. This is a job I can say is important to what we all do,” states Maringa.

“They are the ones who help us retrieve fossils from the site and, in the case of preparators, who patiently and skilfully drill away the breccia from fossils. This allows us to analyse the fossils and compile research on our findings, and share it with the world.”