Raymond Dart

Raymond Dart (1893–1988) was an Australian anatomist and anthropologist, best known for his involvement in the discovery of the first fossil ever found of Australopithecus africanus, an extinct hominid closely related to humans, in Taung, South Africa in 1924.

Early Life and Education

Raymond Dart was born on 4 February 1893 in Toowong, a suburb of Brisbane, Australia. He completed his early education in Australia and later moved to England for his higher studies. Dart earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Queensland in 1917 and his medical degree from the University of Sydney in 1920. He then moved to England to study at the University College London and the London Hospital Medical College.

Career

In 1922, Dart took up a position as a professor of anatomy at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was here that he made his most significant discovery. In 1924, he identified a fossilized skull of a young child in a box of rocks sent to him from the Buxton Limeworks in Taung. Dart recognized that the skull was from a previously unknown species of early human ancestor, which he named Australopithecus africanus.

Contributions to Anthropology

Dart's discovery of the Taung Child, as it came to be known, was a significant contribution to the field of anthropology. It provided the first evidence of early hominid evolution in Africa. Dart's work challenged the prevailing view at the time that humans had evolved in Asia. His findings sparked a renewed interest in Africa as the "Cradle of Humankind".

Later Life and Legacy

Dart retired from the University of the Witwatersrand in 1958. He continued to write and lecture on anthropology and human evolution until his death in 1988. Dart's work has had a lasting impact on the field of anthropology, and his discovery of Australopithecus africanus remains one of the most significant in the study of human evolution.

See Also

• Australopithecus
• Taung Child
• University of the Witwatersrand
• Anthropology

External Links

• University of the Witwatersrand
• Taung Child

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Raymond Dart

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  Raymond Dart - Smithsonian Institution Archives

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  Smithsonian Institution Archives