Taung Children’s Skull Mold (Australopithecus africanus) Found in South Africa in 1924
100 years ago, the discovery of the fossil skull of the first Australopithecus africanus He launched the controversy about the origins of the human species – which was sought outside the African continent. A century later, a group of researchers revisits the debate.
In 1924, the anthropologist and anatomist, Raymondt, acquired a block of calcified sediment from a limestone quarry in South Africa. Dart carefully removed a fossil skull Material wean.
The hominid to which the skull belonged was nicknamed Taung’s childa reference to the place of discovery and its tender age.
A few months later, on February 7, 1925, he published in the magazine Nature one with the description of what he considered to be a new species of hominid, the Australopithecus africanus.
A international scientific community rejected this hypothesis. At the time, the scientists sought the human origins outside Africa and argued that the skull belonged most likely to a non -human primate.
Decades later, after subsequent discoveries of similar fossils in other places of Africa, justice would be done to Dart – currently portrayed as a prescient and acclaimed by raise the importance of Africa in the narrative of human origins.
But This will be a biased and simplified narrative?
The question is launched by Rebecca Ackermann e Robyn Pickeringresearchers at the University of Cape Town, and Lauren Schroederanthropologist at the University of Toronto, in an article no.
The discovery occurred during a period marked by colonialismracism, racial segregation and apartheid in South Africa. The history of research on human origins is therefore intertwined with inequalityscientifically incorrect exclusion and ideas.
In this social context, seen from a contemporary look, the figure of Dart and PaleoAnthropology on the African continent in general are complex and deserve reflection.
Recently, the South African Journal of Science a special edition to mark the Centenary of Dart’s original article.
A group of African researchers and international collaborators, including Ackermann, Pickering and Schroeder, contributed to articles that offer prospects about the science, history and legacy of paleoanthropology in South Africa and not only.
Investigators were particularly interested in exploring the way History of the discovery of the first hominids In South Africa influenced the scientific field of PaleoAnthropology.
Promoted or limited scientific research? How? What were their cultural effects? And how do they manifest themselves now, a century later?
The articles of this special edition address a series of issues and highlight ongoing debates in the field of investigating human evolution in Africa, with the aim of celebrating the remarkable science that the discovery of the A. africanus allowed.
Marginalization and the erasure of voices
There are several fundamental themes that cross the contributions of this special edition.
One of them is The unlucky voices. The colonial picture in which most paleoanthropological investigation in South Africa Deleted all groupsexcept some. This is particularly true for indigenous voices.
As a legacy, few African researchers in PaleoAntropology They are the first authors of prominent investigations or lead international research teams.
Too many times, African paleoantropological heritage is from the domain of international teams that conduct investigation on the continent with little collaboration of local African researchers. It is a “helicopter science“.
More diverse teams will produce better jobs in the future, and kinetists in the area should actively conduct this process, stress Ackermann, Pickering and Schroeder.
A predominance of western masculine views It is part of the colonial picture. This theme is also present in most of the works of this special edition.
In an attempt to Correct some of the imbalancesmost authors of the special edition They are women, especially African women and, more generally, black Africans.
Many of the articles appeal to a more thoughtful approach and equitable to include investigators, technicians and African excavators in the future: in workshops and seminars, in professional organizations such as collaborators and knowledge creators, and authorship practices.
Community and Practice
Os colonial legacies They also manifest themselves in a lack of social response capacity – the use of specialized professional knowledge for a public objective or benefit.
This is another theme of the special edition of South African Journal of Science. For example, Mirriam Tawane, Languages. Bando Baven analyze the broader effects of the discovery of Taung’s child in the Taung community.
Tawane is paleoantropologist and grew up in the municipality of Taung. In its article, it argues that, a century after the discovery, There are few (or no) reasons for the local community to celebrate: it is necessary to do more, not only to return to the community, which is plagued by socioeconomic strugglesbut also to create confidence in science and between communities and scientists.
Researchers have to understand that It is important to involve people beyond the academic environment. It is not just about spreading scientific knowledge. It can also enrich communities and co-create a more tiny, ethical and relevant scholarship.
Investigators should become more socially reactive and institutions should impose higher practice standards of practice, noticing Ackermann, Pickering and Schroeder.
Another theme that emerges from this special edition is the value and the need for local laboratory facilities of excellence to conduct a research based on fossils and deposits associated with them.
A bigger investment in local laboratory facilities and in the development of capabilities can create a change in the sense that local work on content is led by Africans. It can also increase pan-African collaboration, dismantling the current common practice of African researchers being attracted to separate international networks.
It is important that international financing bodies increase the investment in African paleoanthropology – which will facilitate internal growth and local collaboration networks.
International and South African investment is also required to increase local investigation capacity. Fossil heritage is a national goodconclude the authors of the article.
