The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull
The iconic Taung fossilised skull is widely known for its primacy as Africa’s first palaeoanthropological discovery with universal scientific relevance. Yet the details surrounding its discovery and current status remain an enigma to the community of Taung Village. A comprehensive conservation of t...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Academy of Science of South Africa
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | South African Journal of Science |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18612 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1825206550749249536 |
|---|---|
| author | Mirriam Tawane Dipuo W. Kgotleng Bando Baven |
| author_facet | Mirriam Tawane Dipuo W. Kgotleng Bando Baven |
| author_sort | Mirriam Tawane |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
The iconic Taung fossilised skull is widely known for its primacy as Africa’s first palaeoanthropological discovery with universal scientific relevance. Yet the details surrounding its discovery and current status remain an enigma to the community of Taung Village. A comprehensive conservation of the site, which was listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage site of outstanding universal value 25 years ago, is yet to be completed, much to the chagrin of the local communities. The noticeable disconnect between the management authorities and scholarly institutions probably adds to the slow development in regard to continued research and public engagements at the site. In this paper, we discuss the current state of the site and the ongoing development, as well as the knowledge gap and the lack of inclusiveness of the Taung local inhabitants regarding the site.
Significance:
We look at the discovery of the Taung skull from the perspective of all stakeholders of the site. The discovery of the Taung skull shaped the story of the evolution of humankind, and was a robust discussion for decades. To the Taung community, it did not have much influence on their daily existence, but rather became a mystery, still not understood by many. The paper presents the complex stakeholder relationships, challenges at the site, and the wishes of the Taung people regarding the skull.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2e2e49ac251142028c94b3c3a633460d |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1996-7489 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Academy of Science of South Africa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | South African Journal of Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-2e2e49ac251142028c94b3c3a633460d2025-02-07T08:28:51ZengAcademy of Science of South AfricaSouth African Journal of Science1996-74892025-02-011211/210.17159/sajs.2025/18612The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skullMirriam Tawane0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5265-7846Dipuo W. Kgotleng1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2160-7090Bando Baven2National Heritage Council, Pretoria, South AfricaPalaeo-Research Institute, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South AfricaDepartment of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, Mmabatho, South Africa The iconic Taung fossilised skull is widely known for its primacy as Africa’s first palaeoanthropological discovery with universal scientific relevance. Yet the details surrounding its discovery and current status remain an enigma to the community of Taung Village. A comprehensive conservation of the site, which was listed as a UNESCO cultural heritage site of outstanding universal value 25 years ago, is yet to be completed, much to the chagrin of the local communities. The noticeable disconnect between the management authorities and scholarly institutions probably adds to the slow development in regard to continued research and public engagements at the site. In this paper, we discuss the current state of the site and the ongoing development, as well as the knowledge gap and the lack of inclusiveness of the Taung local inhabitants regarding the site. Significance: We look at the discovery of the Taung skull from the perspective of all stakeholders of the site. The discovery of the Taung skull shaped the story of the evolution of humankind, and was a robust discussion for decades. To the Taung community, it did not have much influence on their daily existence, but rather became a mystery, still not understood by many. The paper presents the complex stakeholder relationships, challenges at the site, and the wishes of the Taung people regarding the skull. https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18612Taung skullTaung communitysocio-economicpublic engagementheritage conservationcultural heritage |
| spellingShingle | Mirriam Tawane Dipuo W. Kgotleng Bando Baven The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull South African Journal of Science Taung skull Taung community socio-economic public engagement heritage conservation cultural heritage |
| title | The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| title_full | The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| title_fullStr | The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| title_full_unstemmed | The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| title_short | The children of Taung: Journeying from a rural village to the global stage: The perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| title_sort | children of taung journeying from a rural village to the global stage the perception of the local community and views regarding the development of the site and the curation of the skull |
| topic | Taung skull Taung community socio-economic public engagement heritage conservation cultural heritage |
| url | https://sajs.co.za/article/view/18612 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mirriamtawane thechildrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull AT dipuowkgotleng thechildrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull AT bandobaven thechildrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull AT mirriamtawane childrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull AT dipuowkgotleng childrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull AT bandobaven childrenoftaungjourneyingfromaruralvillagetotheglobalstagetheperceptionofthelocalcommunityandviewsregardingthedevelopmentofthesiteandthecurationoftheskull |