Australopithecus africanus skull (Taung Child) (2.3 million years)

The Australopithecus africanus skull (Taung Child) was discovered by M. de Bruyn in Taung, South Africa in 1924.  Anatomy professor Raymond Dart identified this juvenile skull as a new genus and species of hominid in 1925 in Nature (Australopithecus africanus, which means "southern ape of Africa").  Dart considered his new man-like ape to be intermediate between humans and apes.  The skull, though immature, features several hominid-like characteristics including: a rounded, high forehead lacking brow ridges, rounded dental arcade, no space between canine and first lower premolar, and a foramen magnum (the hole under the skull from which the spinal cord emerges) positioned forwardly under the skull, indicating bipedal locomotion.  On the other hand, the child's cranial capacity is estimated at 405cm³, with a projected adult size of 440cm³, well within the ape range.  It was not until other adult specimens were discovered in southern Africa during the next twenty years that Australopithecus africanus began to gain acceptance in the established scientific community.  Presented in three pieces: cranium, jaw and brain.

Stand available - see product code SBH016.

Model size: 13.5(L) x 7.5(W) x 11.5(H) cm

The Bone Clones® Hominid Series

Our aim is to provide the best possible facsimile models of the most important hominid finds for the general public, educators and students, using the best reference material available.  Each hominid has been carefully researched and re-created based on some or all of the following: casts of original fossils, the latest literature (descriptions and/or published measurements), input from the scientific community and full colour, life-size photographs.  Every effort has been made to accurately re-create anatomical details of colour, size, shape, reconstructed areas, and bone/fossil texture.  The hominids offered in this series are high quality, artistic recreations that can be advantageously used by educators as important visual aids in the classroom and appreciated by the general public.  They are not intended for advanced graduate work nor to be measured for research purposes.

(Information courtesy Bone Clones, Inc)