Raymond Arthur Dart was born on February 4, 1893 in Toowong, Brisbane, Australia. He attended school at the University of Queensland and the University of Sydney. Then, in 1920, Mr. Dart went on to the University of London, where he studied under the anatomists Grafton Elliot Smith and Arthur Keith. Then a Professorship of Anatomy opened up at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, Africa, and Elliot Smith influenced Mr. Dart to go for the position. Raymond Dart was given the position, and he had to move to South Africa in 1922. He went on to become a brilliant physical anthropologist and paleontologist.

In 1924, Raymond Dart found the discovery that made him famous. Mr. Dart was working with his students in the Taung limestone works in the Harts Valley in Bechuanaland. He offered a reward to those students who made the most interesting finds. First, there was an endocranial cast found, which seemed at first to be just another primate skull. Then, Dart noticed how amazingly close to human it looked. His intrigue and dedication led him into 73 days of grueling chipping and digging, which paid off in the end. Raymond Dart had discovered the Taung child, who was only three years old at the time of death. He named it Australopithecus africanus, "australis" meaning south and "pithecus" meaning ape.

Dart also hypothesized that Australopithecus africanus used tools made from the long bones of gazelles, antelopes and wild boar. Australopithecus africanus was found at the Makapansak Cave in Tanzania dating to over 1 million years ago. The controversy over the bones found in the cave comes down to whether these bones were used by Australopithecus africanus as tools or whether they were simply an accumulation of food refuse. The controversy continues today.

The world was soon as intrigued by Dart because Taung is neither ape nor human, but is classified somewhere in between. This is because the Taung child has an ape sized brain, but the dental and postural characteristics are close to those of humans. The evidence that Dart had that showed human postural characteristics dealt with the head. Since it was balanced on the vertebral column, Dart knew that the Taung child walked on two legs rather than four.

Another reason the world was watching this discovery so closely was because Asia had previously been seen as the site of the origin of man. This discovery makes Africa the site of the origin of mankind. These are very new theories, challenging the only concepts that had been really familiar to the people at that time. This explains why his discoveries and ideas were not welcomed by the public. The people may have been intrigued, but they were not convinced. Also unconvinced were Raymond Dart’s old instructors, Grafton Elliot Smith and Arthur Keith. The few who believed in Raymond Dart went into action. His biggest believer was a man named Robert Broom. In 1936, Broom found and identified two forms of Australopithecus, after laboring in the same area that Raymond Dart had worked 12 years before. In 1947, the world renowned anatomist Wilford Le Gros Clark went to Africa to find the truth, and he agreed with Raymond Dart and Robert Broom. Finally, after 23 years and several more discoveries in the same African area, the Taung child was recognized as an important discovery. Even Arthur Keith wrote how he had been wrong and Raymond Dart had been right.

There is still one major question that remains a mystery yet today. How does Australopithecus connect to humans? Are they direct ancestors of the genus Homo, or are they merely our cousins on the evolutionary scale? These are the questions Raymond Dart has pondered since the day he found the Taung child.

Raymond Dart continued to teach at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg until 1958. This is where the Institute for the Study of Man in Africa was founded in his honor. Raymond Dart was an inspirational man, extremely confident in his conclusions. He ignored public opinion because he believed in himself. Because of his bravery and tenacity, the world was forced to take the discovery of the Taung baby seriously. He found some very important clues to the evolutionary puzzle, but never lived to see it all put together. Raymond Dart died in November of 1988, at the age of 95. He inspired many people throughout his lifetime to continue to look for all of the answers. Sooner or later, all of the clues will come into place and a great deal of the final picture will be due to Raymond Dart.

Information provided by: http://www.anthro.mankato.msus.edu