Taung Child
| Catalog no. | Taung 1 |
|---|---|
| Common name | Taung Child |
| Species | Australopithecus africanus |
| Age | ~2.8 mya; 3.3 years when deceased |
| Place discovered | Taung, South Africa |
| Date discovered | 1924 |
| Discovered by | Raymond Dart |
The Taung Child (or Taung Baby) is the fossilised skull of a young Australopithecus africanus. It was discovered in Taung, South Africa in 1924 and described as a new species by Raymond Dart in 1925. The skull was one of the first early hominin fossils to be found in Africa, and the first evidence that humanity originated from the continent.
The Taung skull is in repository at the University of the Witwatersrand. Dean Falk, a specialist in brain evolution, has called it "the most important anthropological fossil of the twentieth century."