Austalopithecus africanus was first discovered by Raymond Dart in 1925. He found a beautifully preserved skull of a juvenile, three to four years old. This skull, commonly known as the Taung Child, for Taung South Africa where it was found, is perhaps the best preserved fossil of A. africanus known. Astralopithecus africanus has a somewhat dish shaped facial structure with teeth that are relatively large compared to modern humans. While it has larger front teeth compared to the back the emphasis is on back tooth grinding. As a result, a sagital crest is present on males for the attachment of large muscles. This creature is rather lightly built and has a small cranial capacity of about 440 cc on the average. It first appeared approximately 2.5 million years ago and had a rather short 1 million year existence. Many anthropologists believe that A. africanus belongs on the line that leads to Homo. Others say that it belongs on the defunct Australopithecine line. Perhaps the most compelling evidence I have viewed is the dental traits chart on page 277 of Donald Johanson's book "Lucy: The Beginnings of Human Kind." It clearly shows that while the molars of Homo remain small like Australopithecus afarensis, the Australopithecine molars get larger and larger with each species beginning with A. africanus. I invite you to go look this up and decide for yourself where this species belongs on the hominid family tree.
