""We are going to see a fossil site in the Cradle of Humankind," he says, referring to the UNESCO World Heritage site that has produced a stunning trove of early hominid fossils, helping prove that the African continent was indeed the birthplace of humanity. "This is where the story started," says Kgasi, age 52. "Every fossil here help[s] us to reconstruct the past to tell the story of where do we come from.""
"When he arrives at a sunken pit of uneven stones and dirt that was once a cave, Kgasi says, "I hear voices of our human ancestors." Some of those ancestors left Africa to explore Europe. But others remained. "I'm the descendant of [those] that stayed in Africa," he reflects. "And hence my skin color. It's [a] bit darker to cater for the harsh African sun.""
"That darker skin color meant that Kgasi might have never ended up as a professional paleontologist. This is the story of how Kgasi became a prominent junior curator at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History in a field dominated by white researchers. Kgasi is one of eight children. Back when he finished high school, he knew full well what he had to do find a job to support his family."
At 52, Lazarus Kgasi walks across a gently rolling landscape near Pretoria in the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage site rich in early hominid fossils. He treats fossils as tools to reconstruct human origins and experiences a deep ancestral connection at excavation sites. Kgasi identifies as descended from ancestors who remained in Africa and notes darker skin adapted for the harsh sun. One of eight children, Kgasi worked clerical jobs and as an auto mechanic before applying in 2000 to dig fossils. He advanced from digger to prominent junior curator at the Ditsong National Museum of Natural History in a field long dominated by white researchers.
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