Watch: HERI’s Associate Professor Robyn Pickering presents 2026 Alex Du Toit memorial lecture

The Geological Society of South Africa’s 2026 Alex Du Toit memorial lecture series was presented by Associate Professor Robyn Pickering, Co-director of the Human Evolution Research Institute (HERI) at the University of Cape Town.

Presenting a talk titled, “Early humans and hydrology: the geology and dating of the last 3 million years of southern Africa,” Pickering made history as the second woman to present the lecture series, after Dr Edna Plumstead in 1969 - the series itself began in 1949. 

The series took place between 8-22 April in Cape Town, Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Gaborone, Durban and Gqeberha, attracting a total audience of over 400 attendees.

Human evolution in southern Africa

Pickering’s lecture presented new insights into how the uranium-series dating technique has provided the first direct chronologies for early hominin fossils, reconstructed palaeoclimates from 1–3 million years ago, and revealed how early modern humans survived and thrived in now-arid landscapes. 

The lecture builds on her research into the geology, dating, and palaeoenvironments of human evolution in southern Africa, with particular emphasis on rivers, lakes and caves. 

Indeed, Pickering was instrumental in establishing South Africa’s first carbonate U-series dating laboratory, and has pioneered innovative in situ analytical approaches. Her field programmes span the Cradle of Humankind, the Kalkkop meteorite impact palaeolake, and the southern Kalahari.

About the Alex du Toit Memorial 

The Alex du Toit Memorial Lecture is awarded biennially to recognise world-class research in the geosciences. 

Organised by the Geological Society of South Africa, it honours Alexander du Toit (1878–1948), one of South Africa's most distinguished geologists and an early champion of the continental drift theory.