The first human ancestors may have been at Waterberg as early as three million years ago, since Makapansgat, 40 kilometers distant, has yielded skeletons of Australopithecus africanus.
Scipio Africanus | Lucy (Australopithecus) | Leo Africanus | Australopithecus africanus | Australopithecus afarensis | Australopithecus | Albert Freeman Africanus King | Turraeanthus africanus | Leo Africanus (novel) | Eriocephalus africanus | Ditylenchus africanus | Cresconius Africanus | Conus africanus | Batocnema africanus | Africanus Horton |
Because of the wide range of mosaic features exhibited in both cranial and post-cranial morphology, the authors suggest that A. sediba may be a transitional species between the southern African A. africanus (the Taung Child, Mrs. Ples) and either Homo habilis or even the later H. erectus (Turkana boy, Java man, Peking man).
Until Raymond Dart found the Australopithecus africanus (1925a), this controversial problem could not be solved.
The first recognition came in 1995 for his co-authored work with Prof. Ron Clarke of Wits on the taphonomy of the Taung site and in 1998 for his co-authored work with Prof. Henry McHenry of the University of California, Davis on limb lengths in Australopithecus africanus.