Existing comment:
Timestone 6
3 to 2.5 million years ago
Australopithecus africanus
The Taung Child fossil was found in 1924 and was the first named australopithecine. Many scientists thought the small skull was that of an ape and it was not until the 1940s that it was accepted as a hominid.
The discovery in 1947 of a hominid skull nicknamed Mrs. Ples (from the original name Plesianthropus) led scientists to accept the Taung Child as a hominid. At the time Mrs. Ples was the most complete australopithecine skull. It showed both ape-like and human-like features. Even though the brain was small, the skull showed that these primates were bipedal. |