TOOTH CLUE TO MISSING LINK

Northern Advocate, 29 December 1937, Page 2

TOOTH CLUE TO MISSING LINK

A third lower molar tooth found in a cave near Krugersdorp, in South Africa, has thrown important new light on man’s animal ancestry, writes John Laughton-Davies, in the “News Chronicle.”

It is all that is left of a “young adult, probably male,” but it is enough to make Dr. B. Broom claim that he has found a direct ancestor of the human race.

It has never been thought that the gorilla, the chimpanzee or the orang, man’s nearest living relatives, were in the direct line. They had a common ancestor with ourselves and that is all. Centre of Scientific Attention.

But things are very different with Australopithecus transvaalensis, the fossil ape to whom this tooth belonged. Hitherto scientists have only possessed specimens of his upper jaw, and these are less important for judging relationships than the lower teeth. That is why this molar is the centre of scientific attention at the moment.

The gorilla and the chimpanzee are descended from an animal with a simpler tooth than Australopithecus, and the two small fossil monkeys found in the Siwalik hills are nearer relatives than the living apes. Bigger Than Human Tooth.

The tooth is bigger than a human tooth, but otherwise very like the tooth of an Australian aboriginee. It is becoming clear that man’s ancestoi’s wei'e scattered over the face of the earth millions of years before any of them became man. South Africa, India, Burma, China, Java, all of them were cradles of the prehuman infant.

What was Australopithecus like? Judging from his teeth he must have

had a fine protruding jaw, very little chin, and he probably ate hard vegetable seeds and fruits. The already famous tooth is slightly worn, but strong and healthy. No need for dentists in those far-off days.