ANTH 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Taung Child, Foramen Magnum, Transitional Fossil
18 May 2020
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Document Summary
Discovered by raymond dart in south africa: in the 1930s, he had just finished his doctorate, determined to find the missing link (half ape/half human). Looking for first signs of humanity: was under the impression that the missing link would be a more intelligent ape, he turned down an invitation to a party, but a few of his grad students attended. The students went into a room and asked the owner of the house if they could bring primate fossils to raymond dart: dart then asks for more. Inside that box is the fossil that would become the missing link: the fossils were covered in breccia (due to the karstic environment). After 73 days, he"s able to see the face of the fossil. Foramen magnum in between upright and quadrupedal. Scholars of the day generally panned his theory. Not only did they disagree with the evidence, but he released the evidence against the wishes of his school and advisor.
