Darwin’s Hunch: Science, Race and the Search for Human Origins, Christa Kuljian

Christa Kuljian of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research has made an in-depth historical analysis of the personalities behind the study of human origins in southern Africa, spanning approximately a century. The hunt for fossils and fossil-finds on the African continent, the ‘Cradle of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African medical journal 2017-08, Vol.107 (8), p.653-653
Main Author: Mall, Anwar Suleman
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Christa Kuljian of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research has made an in-depth historical analysis of the personalities behind the study of human origins in southern Africa, spanning approximately a century. The hunt for fossils and fossil-finds on the African continent, the ‘Cradle of Humankind’ made headline news all over the world, with the Out of Africa hypothesis the favoured one – it was Darwin’s hunch that this was so. In South Africa (SA) the names of Robert Broom, Raymond Dart and Phillip Tobias are synonymous with the story of our origins. Kuljian focuses on the personalities behind the science, weaving into the story their attitudes on issues of race, and the methodologies they employed to throw light on the evolution of the human race. As discomfiting as her story is, it is an honest piece of work that is relevant for the dominating discourse of the day in SA on race, racism, transformation and decolonisation.
ISSN:0256-9574
2078-5135