Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child
Although it was one of the most important events in the history of palaeoanthropology, many details of the Taung discovery and the events that followed it are still not completely elucidated. In this paper, we recount the events surrounding three early photographs (stored in the University of the Wi...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academy of Science of South Africa
2012-10-01
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| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/9613 |
| _version_ | 1818878632092762112 |
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| author | Goran Å trkalj Katarzyna Kaszycka |
| author_facet | Goran Å trkalj Katarzyna Kaszycka |
| author_sort | Goran Å trkalj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Although it was one of the most important events in the history of palaeoanthropology, many details of the Taung discovery and the events that followed it are still not completely elucidated. In this paper, we recount the events surrounding three early photographs (stored in the University of the Witwatersrand Archives) showing the Taung Child skull being held in the hands of the renowned anthropologist Raymond Dart. Having, what seems to be, a mosaic of evidence both for and against, we deliberate upon whether the archival photographs presented here are among the first photographs of the fossil itself or are of the first plaster cast of the Taung Child which was prepared for the 1925 British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley, London. We interpreted the photographs and determined their provenance through analyses which included historical examination of published accounts of the Taung discovery and archival materials, as well as comparisons of the photographed material in question with both archival and current (digital, high quality) photographs of the Taung fossil itself and Taung skull casts (as the skull underwent changes over time). We conclude that the early photographs presented here are of the original fossil itself and not of a cast. At the same time, these photographs represent some of the first pictorial depictions of the Taung Child skull. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:17:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2eda515a487549019b370f6ce09148e5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T14:17:16Z |
| publishDate | 2012-10-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj.art-2eda515a487549019b370f6ce09148e52022-12-21T20:17:56ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892012-10-0110811/12Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung ChildGoran Å trkalj0Katarzyna Kaszycka1Department of Chiropractic, Faculty of Science, Macquarie University, SydneyInstitute of Anthropology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, PoznanAlthough it was one of the most important events in the history of palaeoanthropology, many details of the Taung discovery and the events that followed it are still not completely elucidated. In this paper, we recount the events surrounding three early photographs (stored in the University of the Witwatersrand Archives) showing the Taung Child skull being held in the hands of the renowned anthropologist Raymond Dart. Having, what seems to be, a mosaic of evidence both for and against, we deliberate upon whether the archival photographs presented here are among the first photographs of the fossil itself or are of the first plaster cast of the Taung Child which was prepared for the 1925 British Empire Exhibition held at Wembley, London. We interpreted the photographs and determined their provenance through analyses which included historical examination of published accounts of the Taung discovery and archival materials, as well as comparisons of the photographed material in question with both archival and current (digital, high quality) photographs of the Taung fossil itself and Taung skull casts (as the skull underwent changes over time). We conclude that the early photographs presented here are of the original fossil itself and not of a cast. At the same time, these photographs represent some of the first pictorial depictions of the Taung Child skull.https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/9613TaungRaymond DartUniversity of the WitwatersrandSouth AfricaHistory of Science |
| spellingShingle | Goran Å trkalj Katarzyna Kaszycka Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child South African Journal of Science Taung Raymond Dart University of the Witwatersrand South Africa History of Science |
| title | Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child |
| title_full | Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child |
| title_fullStr | Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child |
| title_full_unstemmed | Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child |
| title_short | Shedding new light on an old mystery: Early photographs of the Taung Child |
| title_sort | shedding new light on an old mystery early photographs of the taung child |
| topic | Taung Raymond Dart University of the Witwatersrand South Africa History of Science |
| url | https://www.sajs.co.za/article/view/9613 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT goranatrkalj sheddingnewlightonanoldmysteryearlyphotographsofthetaungchild AT katarzynakaszycka sheddingnewlightonanoldmysteryearlyphotographsofthetaungchild |