The IHE aims to be at the cutting edge of palaeoanthropological
research; the IHE function aims to promote South Africa's
heritage to a wider audience; to stimulate a new generation of
scientists with an interest in human evolution; and to
contribute to the development of young researchers especially
from previously disadvantaged communities in South Africa,
through outreach programmes at university, school and community
level. The IHE focuses partly on South African Plio-Pleistocene
hominin fossils and non-hominin fauna (from Sterkfontein,
Swartkrans, Gladysvale, Gondolin, Makapansgat, Taung and a newly
discovered site), and partly on late Pleistocene archaeological
sites (including Blombos, Sibudu and Rose Cottage Cave)
associated with artefacts reflecting technological innovation in
the Middle Stone Age. The IHE was established in January 2004
under the interim Directorship of Professor Trefor Jenkins. The
current Director, Professor Francis Thackeray, was appointed in
February 2009. The IHE is an interdis