Looking into the origins of humankind

[Standard Bank Team]

The Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST) is a non-profit trust dedicated to preserving Africa’s rich fossil heritage, and funding ongoing scientific research on the continent.

Standard Bank Group became a founding partner of the Palaeoanthropology Scientific Trust (PAST) in 1997 and has since been recognised as the trust's primary corporate supporter across all seven of its programmes.

PAST, founded in 1994, is a non-profit trust that would be dedicated to preserving Africa’s rich fossil heritage, and promoting ongoing scientific research in southern Africa.

Recent discoveries by leading South African researchers on the origins of man have put the continent under the global spotlight and sparked interesting scientific debates. Their research has helped enhance South Africa's standing in the international community."

Standard Bank Group's links with palaeoanthropology resulted in the bank donating 100 hectares of land for the development Maropeng. This is where visitors to the world-renown Cradle of Humankind near Johannesburg can experience how life as we know it today emerged as they "return to the place of origin" (Maropeng).

This development was the first public-private partnership of its kind in South Africa and was undertaken with the Gauteng Provincial Government, which is responsible for the development and management of the World Heritage Site.

Standard Bank Group supports PAST as it plays a vital role in preserving cultural heritage.