Flow Communications is proud to have covered the return of the original Australopithecus sediba fossils to Maropeng for its new fossil display, More secrets of sediba revealed, which was on during September.
The new fossil display coincided with the announcement of five papers in the journal, Science, on new findings on Australopithecus sediba. The research was done by a team of more than 80 people, and it was a challenge to ensure that the reportage of this news was both scientifically accurate and interesting to the public.
Flow produced a series of news articles, features, videos and photo essays that provided comprehensive coverage of the events.
Matthew van Onselen, content developer at Flow Exhibitions, assisted with the reporting.
As Flow Exhibitions is developing the content upgrade for the exhibition at the Maropeng Visitor Centre, it was beneficial to be involved, explains Matthew. “It’s important to keep up to date with new research and the finds that come from the Cradle of Humankind, especially with the work being done on the Maropeng exhibition.”
Many well-known scientists were interviewed in the coverage. These include Professor Lee Berger, reader in human evolution at the University of the Witwatersrand’s (Wits) Institute for Human Evolution; Dr Job Kibii, co-permit holder of the Malapa cave site; and Dr Bernhard Zipfel, curator of collections at Wits.
Flow sub-editor Julia Lloyd interviewed Kibii about the discovery of the sediba fossils. “It was great to get a first-hand account of the day the sediba were discovered,” she says.
The experience of viewing the original fossils was memorable for Matthew: “Speaking to the scientists involved in the research of the sediba fossils revealed how extraordinary the fossils really are. There are a lot of casts available, but to see the real fossils was quite something.”
The following links feature some of the coverage of this event:
New research investigates Australopithecus sediba’s link to human evolution
Australopithecus sediba returns to the Cradle of Humankind – video
Malapa Cave: Australopithecus sediba’s place of discovery
Australopithecus sediba arrives at Maropeng with police escort
The marvels of Australopithecus sediba discussed at Wits science stadium
