Figure 1

Figure 2

The human race developed in Africa. The remains of a Southern African child who died about 3 million years ago have provided many clues about early people. This evidence of the earliest member of the human race identified to date was discovered in 1924 in a limestone quarry near the town of Taung (“the place of the big lion”), 80 km north of Kimberley (in the North-west Province. A worker who was blasting limestone in the quarry found a small skull, which was sent to Professor Raymond Dart.

Figure 3

He immediately realised that it was different to anything he had ever seen.

This skull displayed two important features of the human race (hominids), namely:

The skull was particularly small, which led Professor Dart to conclude that it belonged to a child of about five years of age. This is what suggested the idea of a Taung child. The evidence indicated that the child walked upright, like we do. Professor Dart therefore gave it the scientific name Australopithecus. According to what we know at present, Australopithecus was the first creature that walked upright, like modern people.

Figure 4

Try to convince your friend by means of scientific arguments that people could not have developed from apes. (Or organise a class debate!)

Source A

Figure 5

Source B

The anatomy of a chimpanzee compels this animal to walk on the outside edges of its feet and therefore to waddle. This differs from the way of walking that is common to human beings, which was also used by Australopithecus.

People are the only primates that walk upright.

This means that the shape of the pelvic girdle, the position of the thighbone and the way in which the feet are placed on the ground are very specific.

The way in which the thighbone bears the weight of the body in humans is also different from how this happens in apes. It is easy to see that Australopithecus is more closely related to human beings than to apes with regard to all these aspects when the Australopithecus skeleton is compared to the skeletons of apes and humans.

The turned-in knees of humans and of Australopithecus allow the feet to be aligned to the front.

This means that the ball of the foot and the big toe, in particular, plays an important role in walking.

Figure 6

Source C

Table 1

Pelvic girdles and thighbones. The similarity of the human thighbone and that of Australopithecus is clearly identifiable. The vertical black line G indicates the axis along which the weight is transferred from the hip to the knee. A = os ileum (hipbone), B = socket for the thighbone, C = os pubis (pubic bone), D = os ischium, E = os sacrum, F = os femur (thighbone).

Source D

Table 2

With Australopithecus the knee joints were turned inwards, as with modern human beings and their footprints formed a similar pattern to ours. The chimpanzee has a waddling gait when it walks on hind legs only.

Twelve years later, in 1936, Dr. Robert Boom discovered an adult skull at Sterkfontein (near Krugersdorp). He initially thought that he had found a female of a new species and named it Plesianthropus transvaalensis (Mrs. Ples). But further investigation revealed Mrs. Ples to be virtually identical to the Taung child.

a) Study the following and then answer the questions that are provided. First make a sketch illustrating similar circumstances at your home.

Figure 7

b) Develop a comic strip or an art song to give expression to the above information.

Activity 1

There are clear differences between apes and human beings. Man is the only primate to walk upright. The shape of the pelvis, the position of the femur, and the way in which the feet are put down, are very specific. A comparison between the build of the rest of the body and the brain indicates that the Australopithecus is related closer to man. There was a development pattern fromAustralopithecus through Homo habilis and Homo erectus to the modern day Homo sapiens.

Activity 2

Suppose this illustration is a representation of the Stone Age:

They lived in caves where they slept and kept food, and used tools, weapons and fire. Gathering food was the main activity. The men hunted and caught fish. The women and children gathered berries, wild fruit and root plants. They also hoarded food for the winter months and also prepared food. Tools were made of bone, stone and wood and gradually improved because they also manufactured arrows, axes and daggers. They could manufacture objects, e.g. “needles” that were used to sew clothing from wool and flax. Early man never stayed long in one place.