The famous Taung skull will be returned to
the site of its discovery where it will be the major attraction at an improved heritage site, Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe said at the weekend.
The fossilised skull of a five- to six-year-old child was found by miners at a lime quarry in 1924, and was shown to archaeologist Raymond Dart, who at the time was teaching at the University of the Witwatersrand.
He identified it as hominid and believed it represented the "missing link" between apes and humans.
His theory was disputed for decades before becoming accepted scientific fact.
Radebe also announced that Transnet would donate R8,4-million to develop under-utilised cultural sites such as that at Taung, as well as sport and recreational sites nearby.
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Speaking at the unveiling of a roadside signpost pointing the way to the existing Taung Skull Heritage Site, Radebe said: "It is time that the Taung skull returns to its rightful place."
Archaeologists have placed the Taung skull in the species Australopithecus africanus (southern ape of Africa).
Experts say the exact dating of the Taung skull has always been difficult and usually estimate that it dates from the Lower Pleistocene era, which stretched from 11 000 to 1,8 million years ago. The era saw the emergence of several human predecessor species, as well as small mammals.
The skull is important to scientists who claim that Africa is the "cradle of humanity." - Sapa
- This article was originally published on page 2 of The Mercury on April 07, 2003
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