Posted on 04/30/2006 3:50:09 PM PDT by blam
This could be your oldest relative . . .
April 29, 2006
By Anna Cox
They lived more than two million years ago and almost 700 000 years apart. They belonged to the same species and they have finally been reunited at Maropeng at the Cradle of Humankind.
In what has been described as an historic and important event by academics, the skull of Mrs, Mr or Ms Ples (the gender has not been agreed on) and the bones of the Taung child - a fossilised child's skull found in a quarry at Taung, in the North Western province - will be on view for the first time to the public at the new exhibition centre.
Ples is believed to be about two million years old and the 4-year-old child about 2.7 million years old. Ples's skull has been around the world and examined by many paleontologists. Dr Francis Thackeray, curator of the Transvaal Museum, said it is "a rare occasion for the public to see the original fossil".
The skull will be on display until May 14, together with 50 fossils in what is called an original fossil display, with samples on loan from the University of the Witwatersrand.
The gender of Ples has caused controversy since its find in 1947 by Robert Broom, 80. Thackeray said Broom declared it to be Plesianthropus transvaalensis - hence the name Mrs Ples.
"However, she was later identified as belonging to Australopithecus africanus, a distant relative of humankind.
"She died in the Cradle of Humankind area. She could almost walk upright, but had a smaller brain, similar to that of a modern chimpanzee.
"This discovery highlighted the possibility that humankind was born in Africa - something many were sceptical of."
Because of her small bones and small dental sockets, it was believed that she was female. Ples was taken for a Cat scan to try to clarify her identity. The teeth sockets were X-rayed and it emerged that there were still impacted wisdom teeth.
"This was very exciting, because it proved that the skull was that of an adolescent (not necessarily female) and that was why the bones were small," Thackeray said.
The discovery of a partial skeleton, also known as STS 14, the same year, 1947, less than half a metre away from the skull, is also causing controversy. Some academics say it cannot belong to Ples because the pelvis bones belonged to a female.
"However, we have just completed another study which shows the pelvis is male and could therefore belong to Ples. All this goes to show that paleontology does not have all the answers and we continue learning as we go it alone," said Thackeray.
The Cradle of Humankind is a R347 million Blue IQ initiative and is the first public-private partnership of its kind in South Africa. The Gauteng provincial government, which is responsible for the World Heritage Site, is developing it into an international tourist destination.
It features an interactive museum and exhibition centre with displays of the history of civilisation. Visitors can also be taken on an underground boat ride in a cave environment.
Guillermo Gonzales & Jay W Richards, The Privileged Planet
Sounds like Nancy Pelosi, Dem, California!
ROFL!!
Even though they're not H. sapiens I feel sorry for them!
Seems to have an awful lot of permanent teeth for a three-and-a-half year old.
Not that I'm skeptical, or anything. ;^)
Thanks for the ping.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.