The four bones of the ankle were collected in 1980 but were undetected between numerous other mammal bones.
Only after 1992, on initiative by Phillip Tobias, a large rock was blown up in the cave that contained an unusual accumulation of fossils.
The fossils recovered were taken from the cave and scrutinized thoroughly by paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke.

In 1994 while searching through museum boxes labelled 'Cercopithecoids' containing fossil fragments, Ronald J. Clarke identified several that were unmistakably hominin.
 He spotted four left foot bones (the talus, navicular, medial cuneiform and first metatarsal) that were most likely from the same individual.
These fragments came from the Silberberg Grotto, a large cavern within the Sterkfontein cave system.
They were described as belonging to the genus Australopithecus, and catalogued as Stw 573.

Due to the diminutive nature of the bones, they were dubbed "Little Foot".
 Clarke found further foot bones from the same individual in separate bags in 1997, including a right fragment of the distal tibia that had been clearly sheared off from the rest of the bone.

Early in 1997 two fossil preparators and assistants of Clarke, Stephen Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe, were sent to the Silberberg Grotto to try to find the matching piece of tibia that attached to this fragment.
 Amazingly, within two days they found the remaining part of the bone protruding from the rock in the lower part of the grotto.
Because the bones of both legs were in anatomically correct arrangement, the team speculated that it could be a complete skeleton, which was embedded with the face downward in the limestone.
In the following months, Clarke and his two assistants with the help of a hammer and small chisel uncovered further foot bones.
Stephen Motsumi discovered the first remains of the upper body, an upper arm bone on 11 September 1998, and eventually the head of the individual was seen as well.
It was a skull connected with the lower jaw, which was facing up.
These were announced to the press in 1998, resulting in considerable media attention around the world.

A year later, in July and August 1999, a left forearm as well as the corresponding left hand was discovered and partly uncovered.
These were again in anatomically correct arrangement.
Subsequent work has uncovered a relatively complete skeleton, including parts of the pelvis, ribs and vertebrae, a complete humerus and most of the lower limb bones.
 This discovery is likely to be far more complete than the famous Australopithecus afarensis  skeleton, "Lucy", from the site of Hadar, Ethiopia.
Clarke reported this discovery six months later and explained that all previous analyses indicated that the fossil's body was apparently complete and was possibly slightly moved by ground movements and also not damaged by predators.
 It took Clarke and his team two full decades to fully extricate, clean, and analyze the specimen, work that was finally completed in 2017.
The four bones of the ankle were collected in 1980 but were undetected between numerous other mammal bones. Only after 1992, on initiative by Phillip Tobias, a large rock was blown up in the cave that contained an unusual accumulation of fossils. The fossils recovered were taken from the cave and scrutinized thoroughly by paleoanthropologist Ronald J. Clarke.
In 1994 while searching through museum boxes labelled 'Cercopithecoids' containing fossil fragments, Ronald J. Clarke identified several that were unmistakably hominin.  He spotted four left foot bones (the talus, navicular, medial cuneiform and first metatarsal) that were most likely from the same individual. These fragments came from the Silberberg Grotto, a large cavern within the Sterkfontein cave system. They were described as belonging to the genus Australopithecus, and catalogued as Stw 573.
Due to the diminutive nature of the bones, they were dubbed "Little Foot".  Clarke found further foot bones from the same individual in separate bags in 1997, including a right fragment of the distal tibia that had been clearly sheared off from the rest of the bone.
Early in 1997 two fossil preparators and assistants of Clarke, Stephen Motsumi and Nkwane Molefe, were sent to the Silberberg Grotto to try to find the matching piece of tibia that attached to this fragment.  Amazingly, within two days they found the remaining part of the bone protruding from the rock in the lower part of the grotto. Because the bones of both legs were in anatomically correct arrangement, the team speculated that it could be a complete skeleton, which was embedded with the face downward in the limestone. In the following months, Clarke and his two assistants with the help of a hammer and small chisel uncovered further foot bones. Stephen Motsumi discovered the first remains of the upper body, an upper arm bone on 11 September 1998, and eventually the head of the individual was seen as well. It was a skull connected with the lower jaw, which was facing up. These were announced to the press in 1998, resulting in considerable media attention around the world.
A year later, in July and August 1999, a left forearm as well as the corresponding left hand was discovered and partly uncovered. These were again in anatomically correct arrangement. Subsequent work has uncovered a relatively complete skeleton, including parts of the pelvis, ribs and vertebrae, a complete humerus and most of the lower limb bones.  This discovery is likely to be far more complete than the famous Australopithecus afarensis  skeleton, "Lucy", from the site of Hadar, Ethiopia. Clarke reported this discovery six months later and explained that all previous analyses indicated that the fossil's body was apparently complete and was possibly slightly moved by ground movements and also not damaged by predators.  It took Clarke and his team two full decades to fully extricate, clean, and analyze the specimen, work that was finally completed in 2017.
Little Foot