Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The First South African Manlike Ape: R. A. Dart
The First South African Manlike Ape: R. A. Dart
The First South African Manlike Ape: R. A. Dart
11 Soulh Afl
"outh of the Fayum in Egypt, and living anthropoids have not been dis dex of 100, whi
covered in recent times south of Lake Kivu region in the Belgian Congo, ,.An thropology
nearly 2000 miles to the north, as the crow flies. all betray a elt
All fossil anthropoids found hitherto have heen known only from is relatively sli
mandibular or maxillary fragments, so far as crania are concerned, and which is scarc{
so the general appearance of the types they represented has been un examined by ~
known; consequently, a condition of affairs where virtually the \dlOle face level of the 10"
;md lower jaw, replete with teeth, together with the major portion of the as in man, and
brain pattern, have been preserved, constitutes a specimen of unusual maximum len!
value in fossil anthropoid discovery. Here, as in Homo rhodesiensis, Eoanthropus d
Southern Africa has provided documents of higher primate evolution that chimpanzee, in
are amongst the most complete extant. sian has occurr
Apart from this evidential completeness, the specimen is of importance forwards. The
because it exhibits an extinct race of apes intermediate between living (l7 mm. x 16 n
anthroj)oids and man. being continuo
In the first place, the whole cranium displays humanoid rather than the maxillae, 3
anthropoid lineaments. It is markedly dolichocephalic and leptoprosopic, Caledonians an
and manifests in a striking degree the harmonious relation of calvaria to In the secone
face emphasized by Pruner-Bey. As Topillard says, "A cranium elongated The specimen
hom before backwards, and at the same time elevated, is already in erupted in botl
harmony by itself; but if the face, on the other hand, is elongated from tomically with
above downwards, and narrows, the harmony is complete." I have milk dentition
assessed roughly the difference in the relationship 01 the glabella-gnathion the deciduous
facial length to the glabella-inion calvarial length in recent African "The Origin a1
anthropoicis of an age comparable with that of this specimen (depicted in data for the 1
Duckworth's "Anthropology and Morphology," second edition, vol. i.),
and fine! that, if the glabella-inion length be regarded in all three as 100,
,
I
features of the 1
l
of the canine
then the glabella-gnathion length in the young chimpanzee is approxi margin of the
mately 88, in the young gorilla 80, and in this fossil 70, which proportion human milk ca
suitably demonstrates the enhanced relationship of cerehral length to and canines OJ
facial length in the fossil. deciduous den
The glabella is tolerably pronounced, but any traces of the salient
supra-orbital ridges, which are present even in immature living anthro
•I come, as in th
Zoe. cit.). Then
poids, are here en tirely absen t. Th us the relati vel y increased glabella
inion measurement is due to brain and not to bone. Allowing 4 mm. for I• left side) betwi
seeing, first, th
the bone thickness in the inion region, that measurement in the fossil (1 mm.-1.5 11m
is 127 mrn.; i.e., 4 mm. less than the same measurement in an ae!ult
chimpanzee in the Anatomv Nfuseulll at the University of the vVitwaters I between the 1
J
iaw, and, thir
rand. The orbits are not in' any sense detached from the forehead, which even in mank
rises steadily fmTll their margins in a fashion amalingly human. The
interorbit;d \\'iclt h is very small (13 mm.) an(l the etlJmoids are not blown
r the establishrr
diastemata wh
out latera II y as in lllod em ,\ l'rican an throj)oids. This lack of et hmoillal nevertheless, s]
expansion causes tIle Iacri11l;i/ Jnss;lc to facc posteriorly and to lie relatively upper lateral i
far back in the orlJits, ;\S in man. The orbits, inslcld of being sub The incisor
(luadrate as in anthropoids, arc almosl circular, furnishing an orbital in- another, and a
OF HIS PAST FirSI SOlllh Aji-ic{/1/ Manlike Ape 171
\
'e not been dis
Belgian Congo, ~ dex of 100, which is well within the range of human variation (Topinard,
"Anthropology"). The malars, zygomatic arches, maxillae, and mandible
all betray a delicate and humanoid character. The facial prognathism
lwn only froIll
concerned, and
.1 is relatively slight, the gnathic index of Flower giving a value of 109,
which is scarcely greater than that of certain Bushmen (Strand loopers)
I has been un examined by Shrubsall. The nasal bones are not prolonged below the
. the whole face I
. portion of the • level of the lower orbital margins, as in anthropoids, but end above these,
as in man, and are incompletely fused together in their lower half. Their
len of unusual maximum length (17 mm.) is not so great as that of the nasals in
a rhodesiensis,
'evolution that
.1 Eoanthropus dawsoni. They are depressed in the median line, as in the
chimpanzee, in their lower half, but it seems probable that this depres
\ sion has occurred post-mortem, for the upper half of each bone is arched
; of importance
~ forwards. The nasal aperture is small and is just wider than it is high
between living (17 mm. x 16 mm.). There is no nasal spine, the floor of the nasal cavity
I being continuous with the anterior aspects of the alveolar portions of
id rather than the maxillae, after the fashion of the chimpanzee and of certain New
leptoprosopic,
I of calvaria to
liurn elongated
I Caledonians and negroes.
In the second place, the dentition is humanoid rather than anthropoid.
The specimen is juvenile, for the first permanent molar tooth only has
is already in erupted in both jaws on both sides of the face; i.e., it corresponds ana
~Iongated from
tomically with a human child of six years of age. Ohservations upon the
)Iete." I have milk dentition of living primates are few, and only one molar tooth of
.bella-gna thion the deciduous dentition in one fossil anthropoid is known (Gregory,
recent African "The Origin and Evolution of the Human Dentition," 1920). Hence the
~n (depicted in
lition, vol. i.), j data for the necessary comparisons are meager, but certain striking
features of the milk denti tion of this creature may be men tioned. The tips
II three as 100, of the canine teeth transgress very slightly (0.5-0.75 mm.) the general
:ee is approxi
ich proportion
)ral length to
I margin of the teeth in each jaw, i.e., very little more than does the
human milk canine. There is no diastema whatever between the premolars
and canines on either side of the lower jaw, such as is present in the
of the salien t j deciduous dentition of living anthropoids; bu t the canines in this jaw
come, as in the human jaw, into alignment with the incisors (Gregory,
living anthro lac. cit.). There is a diastema (2 mm. on the right side, and 3 mm. on the
~ased glabella
ing 4 mm. for I
•
left side) between the canines ami lateral incisors of the upper jaw; but
seeing, first, that the incisors are narrow, and, secondly, that diastemata
t in the fossil (1 mm.-1.5 mm.) occur between the central incisors of the upper jaw and
t in an adult
he \Vitwaters I between the medial and lateral incisors of both sides in the lmver
jaw, and, thirdly, that some separation of the milk teeth takes place
rehead, which even in mankind (Tomes, "Dental Anatomy," seventh edition) during
human. The
are not blown 1 the establishment of the permanent dentition, it is evident that the
I
diastemata which occur in the upper jaw are small. The lower canines.
of ethmoidal nevertheless, show wearing facets, both for the upper canines and for the
o lie relatively upper lateral incisors.
of beino·...., sub The incisors as a group are irregular in size, tend to overlap one
an orbital ill another, and are almost vertical, as in man; they are not symmetrical and
j
172 MAN'S DISCOVERY Of HIS PAST Finl SOIIII
well spaced, and do not project forwards markedly, as in anthropoids. The of great si,
upper lateral incisors do project forwards to some extent and perhaps also this group
do the upper central incisors very slightly, but the lateral lower incisors being free
betray no evidence of forward projection, and the central lower incisors locomotiOl
are not even vertical as in most races of mankind, but are directed slightly tionary ro
backwards, as sometimes occurs in man. Owing to these remarkably human adding COl
characters displayed by the deciduous dentition, when contour tracings but also as
of the upper jaw are made, it is found that the jaw and the teeth, as a elaborate,
whole, take up a parabolic arrangement comparable only with that pre and defenc
sented by mankind amongst the higher primates. These facts, together their failUl
with the more minute anatomy of the teeth, will be illustrated and dis ondly, of tl
cussed in the memoir which is in the process of elaboration concerning do use stick
the fossil remains. of Man," p
In the third place, the mandible itself is humanoid rather than anthro Lastly, tt
poid. Its ramus is, on the whole, short and slender as compared with responsible
that of anthropoids, but the bone itself is more massive than that of a cerebral anI
human being of the same age. Its symphyseal region is virtually com median lint
plete and reveals anteriorly a more vertical outline than is found in tion of the
anthropoids or even in the jaw of Piltdown man. The anterior symphy seems to ha
seal surface is scarcely less vertical than that of Heidelberg man. The picturesque
posterior symphyseal surface in living anthropoids differs from that of cavity was
modern man in possessing a pronounced posterior prolongation of the eluring bIas:
lower border, which joins together the two halves of the mandible, and cia ted by til
so forms the well-known simian shelf and above it a deep genial im less than 11
pression for the attachment of the tongue musculature. In this character, zee in the !I
Eoanthropus dawsoni scarcely differs from the anthropoids, especially the \V i tw atersr,
chimpanzee; but this new fossil betrays no evidence of such a shelf, the cast of the I
lower border of the mandible having been massive and rounded after great size.
the fashion of the mandible of Homo heidelbergensis. matter whic
That hominid characters were not restricted to the face in this extinct of eruption
primate group is borne out by the relatively forward situation of the adult. So fa
foramen magnum. The positiOIl of the basion can be assessed within a few iii) tells us 1
millimeters of error, because a portion of the right exoccipital is present ten years, b
alongside the cast of the basal aspect of the cerebellum. Its position is twenty and
such that the basi-prosthion measurement is 89 mm., while the basi-inion in weight 0
measurement is at least 54 mm. This relationship may be expressed in they had re
the form of a "head-balancing" index of 60.7. The same index in a lieve that t
baboon provides a value of 41.3, in an adult chimpanzee 50.7, in Rho brains whic
desian man 8~1.7, in a dolichocephalic European 90.9, and in a brachy if they did r
cephalic European 105.8. It is significant that this index, which indicates vVhatevCl
in a measure the poise of the skull upon the vertebral column, points to are llot lad
the assumption by this fossil group of an attitude appreciably more erect dis tincti ve
than that of modern anthropoids. The improved poise of the head, and that of Iivi
the better posture of the whole body framework which accompanied this unfortunaH
alteration in the angle at which its dominant member was supported, is of cerebral
\ST First South African Manlike Ape 173
gorilla's. The brain does not show that general pre- amI post-Rolandic reason, WI
Battening characteristic of the living anthropoids, but presents a rounded a primiti
and well-filled-out contour, which points to a symmetrical and balanced Egyptian
development of the faculties of associative memory and intelligent been retri
activi ty. The pi thecoicl type of para lie I sulcus is preserved, but the sulcus India, but
lunatus has been thrust backwards towards the occipital pole by a anthropoi;
pronounced general hulging of the parieto-temporo-occipital association from the S
areas. according
To emphasize this matter, J have reproduced superimposed coronal and even tl
contour tracings taken at the widest part of the parietal region in the \Vhethel
gorilla endocranial cast and in this fossil. Nothing could iilustratc better in India is
the mental gap that exists between liviug anthropoid apes and the group com parisor
of creatures which the fossil represenb than the flattened atrophic ap obvious, m
pearance of the parietal region 01 the brain (which lies het ween the beyond Iiv,
visual field on one hand, and the tactile and auditory fields on the other) of facial an
in the former and ils surgent vertical and dorsa-lateral expansion in the brain on t]
latter. The expansion in this area of the brain is significant in that it ape-like rna
explains the posterior humanoid situation of the sulcus lunatus. It in well advan(
dicates (to~ethcr with the narrow interorbital interval and human char and cerebra
acters of the orbit) the fact that this group of beings, having acquired and his sin
the faculty of stereoscopic vision, had profited heyond living anthropoids creature W
1J.y setting aside a relatively much larger area of the cerebral cortex to localized te
serve as a storehouse of information concerning their objective em,iron necessary t(
ment as its details were simult,lIleously revealed to the sellSes of vision and garcled as a
touch, am! also o[ hearing. They possessed to a deg-ree unappreciated by HOJno,simi,
living anthropoids the use of their hands and ears and the consequent which it n
faculty of associating with the color, form, and general appearance of designated
objccts, their weight, texture, resilience, and flexibility, as well as the ex trelne SOl
significance of sounds emitted by them. In other words, their eyes saw, of the cont
their ears heard, and their llands haJ1l11ed objects with greater nH:~aning nected wit]
and to fuller purpose than the corresponding organs in recent apes. They vindicating
had laid down the foundations of that tliscriminati,'e knnwledge of the cradle of m
appearance, feeling, and sound of things that was a necessary milestone It will aI
in the aCljuisition of articulate speech. human stG
There is, therefore, an ulLrasimian quality of the brain depicted in southern p
this immature endocranial cast which harmonizes with the ultrasimian not associat
features revealed by the entire cranial topography and corroborates the fringe of tll
various inferences drawn therefrom. The two thousand miles of territory life. It is i
which separate this creature from its nearest living anthropoid cOllsins Cretaceous
is indirect testimony to its increased intelligence and mastery of its en vol. xix, 19
\'ironment. It is manifest that we are in the presence here of a prehuman limits in th
stock, neither chimpanzee nor gorilla, which possesses a series of dif that it was
ferential characters not encountereu hitherto in any anthropoiu stock. which mad,
This complex of characters exhibited is such that it cannot be interpreted In antici
as belonging to a form ancestral to any living anthropoid. For this man in tro
HIS PAST FirSI SOl/Iii A/ri('(/Il Mill/like A/)(' 175
,t-Rolandic reason, we may be equally confident that there can be no question here of
a rounded a primitive anthropoid stock such as has been recovcred from the
J balanced Egyptian Fayiim. Fossil anthropoids. varietics of Dryopithccus, have
intelligent been retricved in many parts of Europe. l\' orthcrn Africa. and Northern
the sulcus India, but the prcscnt specimen, despite its youth, cannot be confused with
pole by a anthropoids having the dryopithecid dentition. Othcr fossil anthropoids
association from the Siwalik hills in India (Miocene and Pliocene) are known which,
according to certain observers, may be ancestral to modern anthropoids
ed coronal and even to man.
ion in the \Vhether our present fossil is to be correlated with the discoveries made
rate better in India is not yet apparent; that question can only be solved by a careful
the group comparison of the permanent molar teeth from both localities. It is
rophic ap obvious, meanwhile, that it represents a fossil group distinctly advanced
~tween the beyond living anthropoids in those nvo dominantly human characters
the other) of facial and dental recession on one hand, and improved quality of the
,ion in the brain on the other. Unlike Pithecanthropus, it does not represent an
in that it ape-like man, a caricature of precocious hominid failure, but a creature
ItuS. It i n well advanced beyond modern anthropoids in just those characters, facial
Iman char and cerebral, which are to be anticipateu in an extinct link between man
g acquired and his simian ancestor. At the same tinle, it is equally evident that a
nthropoids creature with anthropoid brain capacity and lacking the distinctive,
I cortex to localized temporal expansions which appear to be concumitant with and
,e enVlron necessary tu articulate man, is no true man. It is therefure logically re
vision and ganled as a man-like ape. I proposc tentatively, then, that a new family of
reciated by HO!no-simiac!ae be created for the reception of the group of individuals
consequent which it represents, ami that the first known species of the group be
learance of designated AlIsfm!ojJilhecvs african liS, in commemoration, first, of the
veil as the extreme southern and unexpected horizon of its discovery, and, secondly,
r eyes saw, of the continellt in which so many new and important discoveries con
~r meanmg nected wi th the early history of man have recently been made, thus
apes. They vindicating the Darwinian claim that Africa would prove to be the
~dge of the cradle of mankind.
( milestone It will appear to many a remarkable fact that an ultrasimian and pre
human stock should be discovered, in the Erst place, at this extreme
lepicted in southern point in Africa, and, secondly, in Bechuanaland, for one does
ultrasimian not associate with the present climatic conditions obtaining on the eastern
borates the fringe of the Kalahari desert an environmen t fa \'ora ble to higher primate
of terri tory life. It is generally believed by geologists (vide A. \V. Rogers, "Post
Did cousins Cretaceous Climates of South Africa," South .1/ric([11 Journal of Science,
y of its en- vol. xix, 1922) that the climate has lluctuated within exceedingly narrow
prehuman limi ts in this country since Cretaceous times. \\'e must therefore conclude
ries of dif that it was only the enhanced cerebral powers possesseu by this group
poid stock. which made their existence possible in this unt()"ward enviromnent.
interpreted In anticipating the discovery of the true links between the apes and
1. For this man in tropical countries, there has been a tenuency to overlook the fact
176 MAN'S DISCOVERY OF HIS PAST
that, in the luxuriant forests of the tropical belts, Nature was supplying
with profligate and lavish hand an easy and sluggish solution, by adaptive
specialization, of the problem of existence in creatures so well equipped T,
mentally as living anthropoids are. For the production of man a different archae
apprenticeship was needed to sharpen the wits and quicken the higher an em
manifestations of intellect-a more open veldt country where competition ge%g,
was keener between swiftness and stealth, and where adroi tness of think tion,
ing and movement played a preponderating role in the preservation of e/epha,
the species. Darwin has said, "no country in the world abounds in a this re
greater degree with dangerous beasts than Southern Africa," and, in my Whitn,
opinion, Southern Africa, by providing a vast open country with occa ample
sional wooded belts and a relative scarcity of water, together with a Hrd/([,
fierce and bitter mammalian competition, furnished a laboratory such as found
was essential to this penultimate phase of human evolution. mine (,
In Southern Africa, where climatic conditions appear to have fluctuated was ta,
little since Cretaceous times, and where ample dolomitic formations have from t)
provided innumerable refuges during life, and burial-places after death, thus j
for our troglodytic forefathers, we may confidently anticipate many com dated
plementary discoveries concerning this period in our evolution. about
In conclusion, I desire to place on record my indebtedness to Miss While'
Salmons, Prof. Young, and Mr. Campbell, without whose aid the discovery of the
would not have been made; to Mr. Len Richardson for providing the in teres,
photographs; to Dr. Laing and my laboratory staff for their willing scien ti~
assistance; and particularly to Mr. H. Le Helloco, student demonstrator coveret
Char/e,
preliminary statement. ***
in the Anatomy Department, who has prepared the illustrations for this
bibliogJ
Heizer
(1905)
This
near A
it was
[Thorn
"Notic
County,'
Vol. III