 | |
| Catalog no. | Taung 1 |
|---|---|
| Common name | Taung Child |
| Species | Australopithecus africanus |
| Age | ~2.8 mya; 3.3 years when deceased |
| Place discovered | Taung, South Africa |
| Date discovered | 1924 |
| Discovered by | Raymond Dart |
The Taung Child (or Taung Baby) is the fossilised skull of a young Australopithecus africanus. It was discovered in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime Company in Taung, South Africa. Raymond Dart described it as a new species in the journal Nature in 1925.
The Taung skull is in repository at the University of Witwatersrand.[1] Dean Falk, a specialist in brain evolution, has called it "the most important anthropological fossil of the twentieth century."[2]
- ^ Štrkalj & Kaszycka 2012.
- ^ Falk 2011, p. 19.