Uncovering earth's secrets

HUMAN EVOLUTION: TEAM HAS ONLY 'SCRATCHED THE SURFACE' OF CAVE

- Louise Dewast

In the 1997 action film Dante's Peak, Pierce Brosnan plays the role of a volcanologist sent to investigate seismic activity beneath a long-dormant volcano.

Years after its release, the story inspired South African Tebogo Makhubela, 35, to become a geologist.

Recipient of one of the prestigious National Geographic 2025 Wayfinder Awards, Makhubela leads a research team working to uncover ancient clues to human evolution.

His turf lies below the surface of the earth in the limestone caves of South Africa's Cradle of Humankind, a Unesco world heritage site.

Speaking from inside The Rising Star cave, one of the numerous caves in the area, Makhubela said he and his colleagues have only "scratched the surface" of the site, which dates back five million years.

In an unassuming savannah field, hidden under a rocky patch of grass, the cave is where scientists in 2013 discovered Homo naledi, an ancient human relative that lived about 300,000 years ago.