Gladysvale Cave, Paleontological site near Sterkfontein, South Africa.

Gladysvale Cave lies about 45 km north-northwest of Johannesburg, within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The site comprises three cave systems; the upper cave holds the internal deposits and an external deposit. Its horizontally bedded breccia has made it a testing ground for absolute dating methods, and it was among the first African sites digitally mapped in 3D by Peter Schmid and University of Zurich students.

The first discovery here occurred in 1991 when researchers found teeth belonging to an early human species. This was a significant scientific find because it was the first such site identified in this region in decades.

Gladysvale lies within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and is itself a South African National Heritage Site. Excavations have been run by joint teams from the University of the Witwatersrand, the University of Zurich and Duke University, and in 2021 research was taken up again by Keneiloe Molopyane, a former student of Lee Berger.

Gladysvale is a South African National Heritage Site within the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, about 45 km north-northwest of Johannesburg and 13 km northeast of Sterkfontein and Swartkrans. The cave is not open to the public and can be visited only by authorised scientists and researchers, so there are no guided tours for general visitors.

The layers in this cave are particularly undisturbed, allowing scientists to determine the age of finds with great accuracy. This clarity in dating makes it a reference site for researchers seeking to understand early human history.