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Nobel prize winner, Professor Sydney Brenner, has left his footprint in the Cradle of Humankind.
Prof Sydney Brenner places his foot in a concrete block, with Gauteng Premier, Mbhazima Shilowa looking on
THE Cradle of Humankind has another set of human records – a little more modern than the fossil-finds it is renowned for. It is now the home of a series of footprints.
The latest footprint to be added to the collection is that of South African-born Nobel Prize winner Professor Sydney Brenner.
During a short ceremony at Maropeng on 27 March, the 81-year-old South African-born scientist placed his foot in a concrete block. His footprint joins those of President Thabo Mbeki and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.
The winner of the 2002 Nobel Prize in the category Physiology or Medicine, Brenner is recognised for his pioneering work in the field of molecular biology and genetics.
A World Heritage site, the Cradle of Humankind has a fossil record of three million years of human activity, including the earliest known use of fire by man. Some 40 percent of fossils showing the development of humans have been found here.
Part of the site is home to the Sterkfontein Caves, the oldest and most continuous palaentological dig in the world.
It is here that the famous pre-human skull, now known as Mrs Ples, was discovered. This find was found to be 2,3-million years old. An older find, the almost complete hominid skeleton of Little Foot, was also unearthed at the site. This skeleton was dated as 4,17-million years old.
Professor Brenner attaches his signature next to his footprint on the concrete block
Brenner's footprint joins the human database at the Cradle of Humankind. "I am glad that my 'homofoot' will have a place here for all to see," he said during the ceremony.
The California-based scientist said it was apt that his trip back home included a tour of the Heritage Site, one of the world's most significant scientific research sites and one of the richest sources of hominid fossils on earth.
He described science, and scientific enquiry, as "something one is tied to for life and one should never retire from anything until one has secured one's next job".
"The endless quest for knowledge will continue as long as humans exist," he added.
Brenner, who heads the Salk Institute in La Jolla as a distinguished professor, toured Maropeng with the vice chancellors of the University of Pretoria and the Witwatersrand – Professor Calie Pistorious and Professor Loyiso Nongxa – as well as Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa.
Also attending the event was renowned palaeontologist Professor Phillip Tobias, a fellow student of Brenner's at the University of Witwatersrand in the 1940s.
Maropeng tour
Maropeng takes its name from the Setswana word meaning 'the place where we once lived'.
Prof Brenner follows on the footsteps of President Mbeki
In addition to the scientific work being undertaken at the site, Maropeng also functions as a centre of education.
Its visitors' centre endeavours to create a sense of what it was like on earth at the dawn of time, when the Earth came into being four billion years ago.
It has exhibits showing the elements that make up the planet: air, earth, fire and water. It does this by taking visitors on a boat ride on a man-made lake and through a tunnel of volcanic activity, with the overwhelming sound of underground forces at work and the outpouring of fire and steam.
Brenner described his visit as "a rare experience". "I can only compare Maropeng to one such tourist place that I visited in Germany."
In his biography, Brenner says his parents would have preferred him to become a surgeon or a physician, but were most understanding of his ambitions.
Despite his personal achievements, Brenner believes "a scientist should be judged by the quality of the people he has helped to produce and not by prizes or other honours bestowed on him".
"Throughout my scientific life and in all my projects I have been joined by many scientists, young and old, whose work was absolutely essential for the success of our scientific endeavours."
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