A. Robustus SK-54

Australopithecus robustus SK-54 Juvenile cranium section, dated at 1.5 million years, was discovered in 1949 Swartkrans, South Africa by Robert Broom and J.T. Robinson.

This juvenile calotte (skull cap) possesses two 6mm puncture wounds close to the intersection of the sagittal and lamdoidal sutures.

First thought to lend evidence to Robert Dart's "killer Ape Theory" (the theory of war and interpersonal aggression being the driving force behind human evolution), the depressed fractures were thought to be the result of an attack by pointed weapon.

Years later, after subsequent excavations headed by C.K. Brain, a new, now generally accepted, theory was introduced: the punctures were produced by a leopard attack.