Lower Paleolithic
A major anthropological find in 1998 at Sterkfontein near Johannesburg revealed that hominids roamed across the Highveld at least three million years ago.
About a million years ago, Homo erectus had emerged and ranged well beyond Africa, leaving traces in Europe and in Asia. Somewhere around 100,000 years ago, modern man replaced the Homo erectus. Homo neandertalensis appeared before Homo sapiens and had a bigger brain capacity. Homo neandertalensis was extirpated by unknown forces, and the only hominin remaining in the area was Homo sapiens.
Read more about this topic: Early History Of South Africa