science · 03 February 1925 · 100 years ago
In 1925, a report of the first "missing link" fossil, found by Raymond Dart, was published in a newspaper. The Star of Johannesburg, South Africa announced the find, instead of the professional journal Nature, when the editors of the journal changed their mind. In 1924, Dart found the skull that made him famous. Mr. Dart with his students made the find in the Taung limestone works in the Harts Valley of Bechuanaland. When an endocranial cast was found, at first it seemed to be just another primate skull. Then, Dart noticed how amazingly close to human it looked. Dart had discovered the Taung child, who was only three years old at the time of death. He named it Australopithecus africanus. "Australis" meaning south and "pithecus" meaning ape.
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