P200 Introduction to Prehistoric Archaeology
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Here are some examples of insightful student comments about Dart's hypothesis!
Dart argued that early hominids (Australopithicus africanus) used
Osteo-Donto-Keratic tools as weapons. Dart thought that these early
hominids were savage, violent killers. He also knew that A. africanus had
small canine teeth, making tools that gouge and cut essential. Dart
supported his theory with finds from caves in South Africa. In these
caves, Dart found an abundance of animal jaw bones with the sharp,
potentially dangerous canine teeth exposed. The fact that such vicious
looking bone fragments were found in such plentiful quantities led Dart to
believe that they must have had some significance for early hominids.
Dart pointed out that the teeth and horn fragments would have made ideal
weapons for gouging and tearing.There are, however, other ways to interpret this find. There is no
concrete evidence to support the idea that hominids used these animal
parts at all. Maybe the bones and various animal remains were dragged to
the cave by other animals. Maybe the bones weren't even deposited in the
cave during the same time period. It is also possible that these sharp
"weapons" were actually used by early hominids for cutting food and not
necessarily for killing. Perhaps A. africanus didn't kill animals
themselves; perhaps they were scavengers who fed on the kills of other
animals. Either way, these hominids had small canine teeth, and they
needed tools to help them cut their food. The fact that animal jaw bones
and teeth are present in the caves may merely demonstrate that A.
africanus needed tools and not that they were savage killers.
Dart based his interpretations and ideas of the culture of A. africanus on
what he saw to be violent use of bones and other animals remains as
weapons by the hominids. His criteria include things like:
-the bones were found in association, often jumbled together with, the
remains of various animals.
-looking at other humans in the current world, if these were indeed our
ancestors, then it was only locical that they shared our behavioural
traits...
-the idea of man the hunter was still at the core of anthropology at that
time- dominant over nature, etc.
An interpretation that would challenge Dart's would be that the assortment
of bones were made by a predator, eg. a leopard, in its lair, or even by
animals like porcupines that collect bones and gnaw them in their dens.
This answer does summarize Dar'ts point of view, with one key mistake... careful!
There are alot of criteria that Dart had to follow to come to the
conclusion that Australopithecus hunted animals, and each other. First,
does their anatomy support the evidence? They were relatively small
animals who used tools of various sorts. Because their canine teeth were
reduced, only tools or weapons could have made the marks on various
fossilized bones. However, it seems uncertain if the animals were killed,
or were already dead. Assuming that they did kill their prey, how did
they accomplish this task? Stone tools [Editorial comment: "nope!"] and bones scatter the area,
suggesting their intelligence of tool making. Moreover, the various
placement of Osteo-Donto-Keratic tools, which makes great weapons, also
cover the area. Thus, they had the weapons and the numbers to kill large
animals. Did Australopithecines kill each other? Their bones and crushed
skulls within the area suggest their own brutality. Also, the abundance
of young Australopithecine bones support the "survival of the fittest"
argument. However, this also supports C.K. brain's hypothesis that
leopards killed the hominids, with teeth marks indented in skulls. This
question is still in debate, but what seems certain is that killing and
brutal activity took place in that region.
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