Keneiloe Molopyane (born in 1987 in Benoni) is a South African biological archaeologist and paleoanthropologist. [1] [2] [3] As of 2023 she was lead excavator at Rising Star Cave and is a researcher at Centre for Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at the University of the Witwatersrand. She was named an "emerging explorer" by the National Geographic Society and an invited member of 50 Club Explorers.
Inspired by watching an episode of Tintin with an archaeology theme on television when she was seven years old, [2] Molopyane began studying archaeology at the University of Pretoria, and later completed a master's degree in archaeobiology at the University of York. In 2021 she completed a doctoral thesis in biological anthropology at University of the Witwatersrand. [4] [5]
As of 2023 she was lead excavator at Rising Star Cave and is a researcher at Centre for Exploration of the Deep Human Journey at the University of the Witwatersrand. [6] Associated with the university she is working is Principal Investigator at Gladysvale Cave, analysing the fossil assemblage. [7] In 2022 she brought contestants for Miss South Africa to Gladysvale to educate them about South African archaeology and its impact on how we understand early human evolution. [8]
In 2021, Molopyane was named an "emerging explorer" by the National Geographic Society. [4] [5] In 2023 she became an invited member of 50 Club Explorers. [6] [9] She is the inspirations for a character named 'Bones' in a comic book series Super Scientist. [6] As a woman of colour she has pioneered representation in archaeology in South Africa, by being the first woman of colour to hold the role of Principal Investigator at Gladysvale Cave. [6]