PAST - Palaeontological Scientific Trust

PAST is a South Africa-based public benefit organization that since 1994 has been dedicated to the mission of protecting, preserving and promoting Africa's ancient fossil heritage for the benefit of humankind. This fossil record demonstrates Africa's status as humankind's birthplace, the repository for the fossil heritage of people everywhere, and the place where everything that distinguishes us from other organisms arose, including our artistic and other advanced cognitive capabilities. Africa's fossil record also provides some of the best evidence for the nature of past mass extinctions and a rich palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic record that uniquely informs us about the climate and biodiversity crises humanity is causing today. PAST pursues its mission by bringing together scientists, business, government and communities to support research, education and public understanding in the sciences related to our origins (palaeontology, archaeology, paleoanthropology and related disciplines). Our goal is to use a scientific understanding of the shared origins of humankind and of all living things to promote human unity and nature conservation, and to confront the most fundamental challenges facing societies everywhere: discrimination and human-induced loss of natural environments and biodiversity. Please visit our website for more detailed information on PAST and its programmes.