The Taung Child is the fossilised skull of a young Australopithecus africanus individual

The Taung Child is the fossilised skull of a young Australopithecus africanus individual.

It was discovered in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime Company in Taung, South Africa. Raymond Dart at the University of Witwatersrand, recognized its importance describing it as a new species. This was the very first early hominin ever to be discovered and represents the holotype of Australopithcus africanus.

Photograph:
Bernhard Zipfel,
University of the Witwatersrand