The Taung Child: 100 years since one of humankind’s greatest discoveries

IT’S been 100 years since the discovery of the Taung Child skull, a find described as one of the biggest in the field of palaeontology.

The skull of the three-year-old child was found in 1924 in the Taung limestone quarry in the North West province.

It is believed the age of the skull dates back three million years and the find was the first time researchers saw evidence of early humans walking in an upright position.

Celebrating the centennial of the discovery of the Taung skull in South Africa and the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Lucy fossil in Ethiopia, Breakthrough Initiatives and the Palaeontological Scientific Trust (PAST), along with the African Astronomical Society and the SA Radio Astronomy Observatory, hosted the third Life in the Universe Conference at the Cape Town International Conference Centre (CTICC) this week.

The CEO of PAST, Kimberleigh Tommy, described 2024 as a milestone year for the field of palaeontology.

“We celebrate these discoveries because they put Africa on the map. It gave us an understanding of human evolution that we didn’t know before and it ties in so nicely with the recent celebration of three Unesco World Heritage Sites.”

Unesco recently declared Diepkloof Rock Shelter close to Elands Bay, the Pinnacle Point Site Complex in Mossel Bay and Sibudu Cave in KwaDukuza, KwaZulu-Natal as heritage sites.

Tommy said the discovery of the Taung Child and Lucy skulls set off the journey of discoveries.

The two discoveries shaped the way of understanding human evolution and humanity, and also led to Africa being seen as the Cradle of Humankind.

“These discoveries further highlight our shared origin as humans and it’s important, especially where we see a lot of divide, even globally, these discoveries help us understand that we are more the same than different,” Tommy said.

She said the discoveries also carried a deeper meaning.

“These fossils aren’t important only scientifically, but in humanity as well. It spreads messages of unity and commonality.

“This is not just about old bones, it’s about the stories the bones tell, the history of our people, and even though we are still falling short in the sense of how local communities engage in this heritage and play an active role in the findings, I do think the tide is changing now.

“The sky’s the limit when it comes to Africa. There are areas of the continent that haven't been explored yet.

“There’s definitely still more secrets hidden in the rocks that need to be told, that’s something to really marvel at,” Tommy said.