Taung

Taung

▪ anthropological and archaeological site, South Africa
 a former mine in South Africa in which the first fossil of Australopithecus africanus (Australopithecus) was discovered. Exhumed by miners in 1924, the fossil was recognized as a primitive hominin (member of the human lineage) by paleoanthropologist Raymond Dart (Dart, Raymond A.).

      The Taung specimen is a natural cast of the inside of the skull and the face of a three- or four-year-old child. The ape-sized brain was only one-third the size of that of modern humans, but the skull has humanlike teeth. The hole at the base of the skull (foramen magnum) reveals the posture of an upright human, not a knuckle-walking ape. Initially the small brain led most researchers to reject it as a human ancestor, but later discoveries proved that human evolution began with the adoption of two-legged walking (bipedalism) while brains were still essentially apelike. The Taung site was destroyed by miners before paleontologists and geologists could determine its exact age, but animal fossils found with the skull are consistent with an age of about 2.4 million years. Additional specimens of A. africanus have been found at other South African sites, including Sterkfontein and Makapansgat.

Henry McHenry IV
 

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Taung — Taung …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taung — Taung,   Ort im Norden der Kapprovinz, Republik Südafrika, Fundstätte (1924) des ersten Australopithecus (Kinderschädel mit einem Merkmalsmosaik pongid hominider Züge), den R. A. Dart als Australopithecus africanus bezeichnete. Das Alter des… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • taung — taung·thu; …   English syllables

  • Taung — Sitios de restos fósiles homínidos de Sterkfontein, Swartkrans, Kromdraai, y alrededores …   Wikipedia Español

  • Taung — Original name in latin Taung Name in other language Taung, Taungs State code ZA Continent/City Africa/Johannesburg longitude 27.53113 latitude 24.78659 altitude 1118 Population 0 Date 2012 07 12 …   Cities with a population over 1000 database

  • Taung, North West — Taung is a small town situated in the North West Province of South Africa. The name means place of the lion and was named after Tau, the chief of the Tswana speaking Legoya or BaTaung tribe. Tau is the Tswana word for lion.History of ResearchIn… …   Wikipedia

  • Taung-Baby — Das „Kind von Taung“ (Replikat), Naturmuseum Senckenberg Als „Kind von Taung“ wird der fossile Schädel eines Vormenschen bezeichnet, der im Herbst 1924 in der heute zu Südafrika gehörigen Ortschaft Taung entdeckt wurde. Raymond Dart, ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taung-Kind — Das „Kind von Taung“ (Replikat), Naturmuseum Senckenberg Als „Kind von Taung“ wird der fossile Schädel eines Vormenschen bezeichnet, der im Herbst 1924 in der heute zu Südafrika gehörigen Ortschaft Taung entdeckt wurde. Raymond Dart, ein …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Taung Child — Infobox fossil catalog number = Taung 1 common name = Taung Child species = Australopithecus africanus age = 2.5 mya place discovered = Taung, South Africa date discovered = 1924 discovered by = Taung Child is the fossilized skull of a young… …   Wikipedia

  • Taung Dwin Gyi Cultural Museum — The Taung Dwin Gyi Cultural Museum is a museum to display cultural materials of the Pyu Period excavated from ancient city. It houses lacquer wares, clay pipes, Pyu coins, glass wares, Buddha images, burial, palanquins and divans located in Near… …   Wikipedia

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