By Lindsay Marshall
As a senior biology major, I to know a thing or two about evolution. In fact, I had taken two classes that specifically revolved around evolution. However upon entering Maropeng, the cradle of human kind, I was exposed to information that was left out of the American curriculum. Our guide first exposed our group to two very important fossils “Mrs. Ples” and “Little Foot”. “Mrs. Ples “is the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus and “Little Foot” is a nearly complete Australopithecus fossil skeleton. Despite my own perception of firm knowledge of evolution, I had never heard of these remains. This is because the fossil Lucy is more commonly talked about in my classes, which is a fossil of aAustralopithecus afarensis found in Ethiopia. This is the only time in my studies that the Australopithecus linage is mentioned. As went through the museum I started to notice a trend. This museum focuses on the Australopithecus linage, and how this is the first descendant of the human race, focusing on the transformation of primates to humans. However in America, the homo linage is more commonly talked about and focuses on this being our closest relative. It baffled me that before this museum I had a lack of knowledge of the Australopithecus lineage.
One of my professors stated “at the beginning of this class if I told you all you were Africans you would think I am crazy.” But it is this notion that we all came from Africa and are all common descendants that is over looked in the American Education system. Instead of looking at where we are all united and all evolved from, we focus on those that we are closely related to. However, we are all closely related since we are all one race: the human race. White, black, European, Asian, or
otherwise, the DNA of every human is 99% identical, but discrimination breeds on the 1%. After going to Maropeng, it raises many questions about the American education system. Do we as a nation leave out the Australopithecus linages on purpose? Does this idea of not accepting that we all come from the same place, the cradle of human kind, play into the discrimination of others based on their physical appearance?
Maropeng Museum. Retrieved from http://www.maropeng.co.za
