1893-1988. Australian-born South African 
paleontologist and anthropologist, who 
discovered in 1924 the first fossil remains 
of the Australopithecenes, early hominids, 
near Taungs in Botswana. He named them
Australopithecus africanus, and spent many
years trying to prove to sceptics that they
were early humans, since their cranial and
dental characteristics were not apelike in
any way. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Leakey
family found more fossils of this type and of
related types in the Olduvai Gorge of E
Africa, establishing that Australopithecines
were hominids, walked erect, made tools, and
lived as early as 5.5 million years ago.
After further discoveries in the 1980s, they
are today classified as Homo sapiens
australopithecus, and Dart's assertions have
been validated.