Fossils in the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ may be more than a million years older than previously thought

Human ancestors appear to have been farther spread in an earlier era

Mrs Ples (pictured) might be quite a lot older than believed (Jose Braga)

Early human fossils dug up in the “Cradle of Humankind” in South Africa may be more than one million years older than thought, a new dating process suggests.

The Unesco World Heritage Site, based around the Sterkfontein Caves near Johannesburg, has proved a trove for remains of human ancestors since the first adult Australopithecus, an ancient hominin, was found there in 1936.

Since then, hundreds of Australopithecus fossils have been found there, notably Mrs Ples and the nearly complete skeleton known as Little Foot. Australopithecus was an evolutionary step before Homo habilis and is often featured as the first figure in an Evolution of Man image.