Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
into the case to demonstrate that aspect? Professor Beatty accompanied Pro-
fessor Elliot Smith when he came and he told me that he (Professor Beatty),
acting on data which you had furnished, had made up a cast of a being which
did not walk erect and that his cast was available for display in connection
with this exhibit, provided no objection was raised. I said that this was a
matter upon which we should have to consult you and that I would write by
Captain Lane received his answer in a letter from Dart, dated July 22,
1925. Interestingly, the handwritten copy of this letter that is in the Uni-
versity of Witwatersrand Archives contains an uncharacteristic number
of phrases and words that were stricken as the letter was composed. The
final letter read:
Dear Captain Lane,
I am glad the material arrived safely but I am astounded that a
copyrighted exhibit should have been tampered with and given a
character other than that elaborated and intended by the exhibitor.
I designed the exhibit to show the
Tau ngs
material and something
South African
only—not to explain the evolution of man. I should
have appreciated your consulting me in this matter and also in that
of issuing a brochure prior to their execution. I do not feel that the
South African Pavilion & a popular audience forms the proper milieu
for the discussion of the propriety or otherwise of the reconstruction
carried out under my supervision & I am glad that you have waited to
hear from me in that regard.
I am yours sincerely Raymond A. Dart
17
Although Dart told Captain Lane that he was not trying to explain
human evolution in his display, he had included a chart under a ban-
ner that read “Africa: The Cradle of Humanity,” which was set out
boldness of this banner provoked indignant reactions. But so did the
fact that Dart's chart placed Taung as ancestral to
Pithecanthropus
(Java
seen the casts of Taung for the first time at Wembley, Arthur Keith
