In addition to Taung, Sterkfontein, and Makapansgat, A. africanus was in 1992 discovered in Gladysvale Cave. The latter three are in the Cradle of Humankind. Many hominin specimens traditionally assigned to A. africanus have been recovered from Sterkfontein Member 4 (including Mrs. Ples and 2 partial skeletons), previously dated to 2.8 to 2.15 million years ago. But in 2022 a team including Clarke and Kuman used cosmogenic nuclide techniques to date Member 4 at 3.4 million years, which it says discredits the assumption that A. africanus descended from A. afarensis. However, given the wide range of variation exhibited by these specimens, it is debated if all these elements can be confidently assigned to only A. africanus.
