African Fossil Primates Discovered During 1947 *

Abstract

THE elucidation of the fossil record of the group of mammals of which man himself is a member is clearly a matter of the most profound interest. But it is a study which in the past has progressed extremely slowly, for the reason that the remains of fossil Primates are usually found only at rare intervals. It is all the more remarkable, therefore, that the year 1947 was outstanding in the field of palaeontology for the great abundance of extinct representatives of the higher Primates, the Hominoidea, which have come to light. These discoveries were made in Africa, and it is particularly interesting to note that they followed so closely on the Pan-African Congress of Prehistory held in Nairobi in January of that year, when the implications of earlier finds first gained a wide recognition. The discoveries are due primarily to two men of science, Dr. Robert Broom in South Africa and Dr. L. S. B. Leakey in Kenya.