Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child

Goran Štrkalj,Katarzyna A Kaszycka

doi:10.4102/sajs.v108i11/12.1224

Goran Štrkalj, Katarzyna A Kaszycka

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4102/sajs.v108i11/12.1224

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Abstract

Although it was one of the most important events in the history of palaeoanthropology, many details of the Taung discovery and the events that followed it are still not completely elucidated. In this paper, we recount the events surrounding three early photographs (stored in the University of the Witwatersrand Archives) showing the Taung Child skull being held in the hands of the renowned anthropologist Raymond Dart. Having, what seems to be, a mosaic of evidence both for and against, we deliberate upon whether the archival photographs presented here are among the first photographs of the fossil itself or are of the first plaster cast of the Taung Child which was prepared for the 1925 British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley, London. We interpreted the photographs and determined their provenance through analyses which included historical examination of published accounts of the Taung discovery and archival materials, as well as comparisons of the photographed material in question with both archival and current (digital, high quality) photographs of the Taung fossil itself and Taung skull casts (as the skull underwent changes over time). We conclude that the early photographs presented here are of the original fossil itself and not of a cast. At the same time, these photographs represent some of the first pictorial depictions of the Taung Child skull.

Highlights

The discovery of the fossil which became known as the Taung Child and its subsequent description and interpretation as a new hominid species – Australopithecus africanus1 – by the Australianborn South African anatomist and anthropologist Raymond Arthur Dart of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, are seen as some of the most significant events in the history of palaeoanthropology.[2,3,4,5,6] Interestingly, some details concerning the history of the discovery, its announcement in February 1925 and the events that followed it, are still unknown.[7,8,9] As Tobias noted: ‘Uncertainty exists as to the exact date of the find, while several other aspects of its early history are subject to conflicting accounts in the published history.’[7]
Could it be possible that Dart did not hold the actual fossil, but rather that the skull depicted in the photographs we present here is one of the first plaster casts of the famous fossil produced in the spring of 1925?
The nature of the analysed historical materials is such that they are difficult to interpret with a high degree of certainty

Summary

Introduction

The discovery of the fossil which became known as the Taung Child and its subsequent description and interpretation as a new hominid species – Australopithecus africanus1 – by the Australianborn South African anatomist and anthropologist Raymond Arthur Dart of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, are seen as some of the most significant events in the history of palaeoanthropology.[2,3,4,5,6] Interestingly, some details concerning the history of the discovery, its announcement in February 1925 and the events that followed it, are still unknown.[7,8,9] As Tobias noted: ‘Uncertainty exists as to the exact date of the find, while several other aspects of its early history are subject to conflicting accounts in the published history.’[7]. The University of the Witwatersrand Archives hold Raymond Dart’s papers, including many of the materials associated with the discovery of Australopithecus.[10] Among these papers are three early photographs of the Taung Child (shown here by permission of the Archives).

Results

Conclusion