MOSSEL BAY NEWS - On Sunday, 4 August, it was the official celebration of the Pinnacle Point Site Complex being inscribed as a World Heritage site.
It is one of the sites known as the Cradle of Human Culture in South Africa. The celebration was held at the Garden Route Hotel near the Pinnacle Point Caves.
A number of guests attended, including several dignitaries, traditional Khoisan leaders from the Gouriqua Khoi Khoranna Kraal and Klaas Dora Khoi Kraal, South African Heritage Resources Agency representatives and KwaZulu-Natal Amafa Institute representatives.
The caves were officially announced as a World Heritage Site on 26 July, following deliberations by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee at the 46th Session of the World Heritage Committee in India.
Sunday's celebrations also marked the inscription of Diepkloof Rock Shelter near Elands Bay and Sibhudu Cave in KwaZuluNatal as World Heritage sites.
The three sites were nominated by South Africa under the category, The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa. Mossel Bay Municipality executive mayor Dirk Kotzé welcomed all the guests.
He said the new heritage status was a fantastic opportunity for growing the region's tourism, economy, scientific research and the awareness of being in touch with nature. He said it can also be seen as a much needed opportunity to bring cultures closer together.
Ricardo Mackenzie, provincial minister of Cultural Affairs and Sport, was next to speak, saying the site was an inclusive heritage destination, "demonstrating our shared origins as human beings".
He said: "This is something we can all celebrate as South Africans, and that we must preserve for future generations.”
Arizona State University professor Curtis Marean, who is also the director of the science team at Pinnacle Point, and has expertise in anthropology, archaeology and paleoanthropology, spoke to the guests about the site and its significance.
He said the site had human occupation that dates from between 160 000 and 90 000 years ago.
“World Heritage status recognises that the scientific results here are of extraordinary importance and universal human value. This is the first documentation of how early humans made a shift to embed their lives in the sea, leading to fundamental transformations in their society.” 
Garden Route District Municipality mayor Andrew Stroebel, premier of the Western Cape Alan Winde and minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, were also present, and said a few words to attendees on the importance of international recognition of sites such as Pinnacle Point.
Kotzé, Stroebel, Winde, Mackenzie and members of the media made their way to the caves, led by Marean, who gave a detailed description of the layout of the area, what it would have looked like 160 000 years ago, and he spoke more about the site's importance to understanding when modern human behaviours and culture evolved.
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