Evolutionary Studies Institute

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Evolutionary Studies Institute
ESI-01.tif
Evolutionary Studies Institute
Established1945;79 years ago (1945)
Location Johannesburg, South Africa
Coordinates 26°11′35″S28°01′45″E / 26.193°S 28.0291°E / -26.193; 28.0291
Website www.wits.ac.za/esi/

The Evolutionary Studies Institute (ESI) is a paleontological, paleoanthropological and archeological research institute operated through the Faculty of Science of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. Previously known as the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research (BPI) it was renamed the Evolutionary Studies Institute in 2013 to better showcase the scope of its research.

Contents

Current premises of the Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Evolutionary Studies Institute.png
Current premises of the Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

History

The Evolutionary Studies Institute was first named the Bernard Price Institute after Bernard Price, an engineer and general manager of the Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company who provided steady research funding. [1] The institute was set up in 1937 as an institute for geophysical research, but since has become known for its paleontological research. The institute's first director was Basil Schonland. When World War II began in 1939, the South African Defense Force ordered the BPI to contribute to the war effort. Schonland led the development of South Africa's first radar system during this time.

At the end of the war in 1945, the research focus of the Bernard Price Institute changed to paleontology. This was entirely due to the actions of a well-known Scottish-born physician and paleontologist, Dr Robert Broom. Broom, who had lived in the small town of Pearston between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East, had been studying therapsid fossils of the Karoo since the early 1900s. During his time living in the Karoo where he ran his medical practice, Broom befriended C. J. M. "Croonie" Kitching, a quantity surveyor from Nieu-Bethesda, and Sidney H. Haughton, a geologist and paleontologist who lived on the farm, Wellwood, close to town. Haughton regularly invited Broom to his farm where he housed a personal collection of fossils he had recovered from his property. Kitching and his three sons, James, Ben, and Scheepers, regularly joined Broom on field trips around Graaff-Reinet and Nieu-Bethesda collecting fossils. Broom was also close friends with Raymond Dart and had contributed to the discovery and research of hominin fossils, namely of Australopithecus and Paranthropus , that had been recovered from Sterkfontein and Makapansgat. [2]

In 1945 Broom, who was working at the Transvaal Museum in Pretoria at the time, gave a public lecture at the University of the Witwatersrand. During his lecture, Broom informed all in attendance of the plight of South African fossils. Thousands of fossils were being lost every year in South Africa because there were no museums or places of research adequately equipped to store, categorize, and protect fossils that were recovered from the field. Broom stated that an academic premises dedicated to the endeavor of paleontological research was sorely needed in order for the prolific number of fossils collected to be stored correctly, studied effectively and that fossil discoveries of South Africa could be made known to the rest of the world.

One of the attendees of Broom's lecture was Bernard Price. Broom's eloquence and passion for South Africa's fossil discoveries persuaded Price to approach Broom and the university. Price soon provided the start-up capital needed to establish a research institute at the university dedicated to the collection, curation and research of South African fossils. It was decided that the geophysics research lab be moved to the main geology building on the University of the Witwatersrand campus, and the Bernard Price Institute was subsequently renamed the Bernard Price Institute of Palaeontological Research. Once the BPI was formally set up, Broom recommended that the young James Kitching, on his return from military service at the end of World War II, be the fledgling institute's first Director. Kitching was signed in as the first member of staff on 26 October 1945. [3]

Within a week of his appointment as Director, Kitching took a train from Johannesburg back to Graaff-Reinet to embark on his first official field trip for the BPI. Kitching borrowed his widowed mother's Buick sedan which he used as his field vehicle for his field trips around Graaff-Reinet and Nieu-Bethesda. Within five months Kitching, with the aid of his younger brothers, had assembled a collection of more than 200 fossil specimens as research material for the Bernard Price Institute, mostly skulls of therapsid species. Price was so thrilled with the success of the institute's first field trip that he doubled his funding propositions for the BPI. This allowed the institute to extend its field collecting activities to include Sterkfontein in the north and also the Makapansgat caves at what was then known as the Northern Transvaal (now Limpopo Province) of South Africa.

Over the following decades, the academic staff of the Bernard Price Institute led numerous research teams to Antarctica, the Americas, continental Europe, and Russia. From the 1990s, the hominin fossil-bearing sites were discovered to be far more widespread. Researchers discovered new sites such as Gladysvale, Kromdraai, Environs Sites, Malapa, Maropeng, and Rising Star Cave. With exception of the Rising Star Cave, these new sites along with Sterkfontein and Makapansgat are now part of the greater Cradle of Humankind world heritage site. In addition, archaeology work has been led at sites such as Blombos Cave and the Klipdrift Shelter in association with the institute. A separate hominin fossil vault has also been set up to separately store hominin fossils recovered from the various hominid-bearing fossil sites around the country.

When Kitching retired in 1990, the Director's post of the Bernard Price Institute was awarded to Professor Bruce Rubidge, the grandson of Sidney H. Haughton. Rubidge held his directorship position until the end of 2016, however, he still works closely with the institute. It is well known in the paleontology community of South Africa that Haughton and the Kitchings sparked the same passion for paleontology in Rubidge as a young boy that they had possessed. A brother of Rubidge, who inherited the Wellwood farm, maintains the Karoo fossil collection housed at the farm.

The Evolutionary Studies Institute remains an active research and teaching institution whose small staff and their students remain dedicated to exploring the fossils of the Karoo Basin and the famous hominin fossil-bearing sites - true to the original dreams of Broom and Price. [4] [5]

Research

The Evolutionary Studies Institute's main research focuses include the paleontological and sedimentological development of the Carboniferous-Jurassic Great Karoo Basin, phylogenetic research of dinosaur species and their relatives, and hominins from the Plio-Pleistocene fossil-bearing deposits.

Current staff

Journal

Palaeontologia Africana is the Evolutionary Studies Institute's in-house scientific journal.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Broom</span> South African doctor and palaeontologist (1866–1951)

Robert Broom FRS FRSE was a British- South African medical doctor and palaeontologist. He qualified as a medical practitioner in 1895 and received his DSc in 1905 from the University of Glasgow.

<i>Dinogorgon</i> Extinct genus of therapsids

Dinogorgon is a genus of gorgonopsid from the Late Permian of South Africa and Tanzania. The generic name Dinogorgon is derived from Greek, meaning "terrible gorgon", while its species name rubidgei is taken from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. The type species of the genus is D. rubidgei.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Kitching</span> South African vertebrate palaeontologist

James William Kitching was a South African vertebrate palaeontologist and regarded as one of the world’s greatest fossil finders.

<i>Tapinocephalus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the middle Abrahamskraal Formation, Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The thickest outcrops, reaching approximately 2,000 metres (6,600 ft), occur from Merweville and Leeu-Gamka in its southernmost exposures, from Sutherland through to Beaufort West where outcrops start to only be found in the south-east, north of Oudshoorn and Willowmore, reaching up to areas south of Graaff-Reinet. Its northernmost exposures occur around the towns Fraserburg and Victoria West. The Tapinocephalus Assemblage Zone is the second biozone of the Beaufort Group.

<i>Cistecephalus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone found in the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a majorly fossiliferous and geologically important geological group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. This biozone has outcrops located in the Teekloof Formation north-west of Beaufort West in the Western Cape, in the upper Middleton and lower Balfour Formations respectively from Colesberg of the Northern Cape to east of Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape. The Cistecephalus Assemblage Zone is one of eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be Late Permian in age.

<i>Daptocephalus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone found in the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a majorly fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. This biozone has outcrops located in the upper Teekloof Formation west of 24°E, the majority of the Balfour Formation east of 24°E, and the Normandien Formation in the north. It has numerous localities which are spread out from Colesberg in the Northern Cape, Graaff-Reniet to Mthatha in the Eastern Cape, and from Bloemfontein to Harrismith in the Free State. The Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone is one of eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group and is considered Late Permian (Lopingian) in age. Its contact with the overlying Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone marks the Permian-Triassic boundary.

<i>Lystrosaurus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the upper Adelaide and lower Tarkastad Subgroups of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. This biozone has outcrops in the south central Eastern Cape and in the southern and northeastern Free State. The Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone is one of eight biozones found in the Beaufort Group, and is considered to be Early Triassic in age.

<i>Pristerognathus</i> Assemblage Zone

The Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the upper Abrahamskraal Formation and lowermost Teekloof Formation, Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The thickest outcrops, reaching not more than 300 metres (980 ft), occur just east of Sutherland through to Beaufort West in the south and Victoria West in the north. Exposures are also found west of Colesberg and south of Graaff-Reinet. The Pristerognathus Assemblage Zone is the third biozone of the Beaufort Group.

<i>Tropidostoma</i> Assemblage Zone

The Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone is a tetrapod assemblage zone or biozone which correlates to the lower Teekloof Formation, Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, a fossiliferous and geologically important geological Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The thickest outcrops, reaching approximately 240 metres (790 ft), occur from east of Sutherland through to Beaufort West and Victoria West, to areas south of Graaff-Reinet. Its northernmost exposures occur west/north-west of Colesberg. The Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone is the fourth biozone of the Beaufort Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nieu-Bethesda</span> Place in Eastern Cape, South Africa

Nieu-Bethesda is a village in the Eastern Cape at the foot of the Sneeuberge, approximately 50 kilometres (31 mi) north of Graaff Reinet. It was founded in 1875 as a church town, like many other Karoo villages, and attained municipal status in 1886. The name is of biblical origin and means "place of flowing water".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lee Berger (paleoanthropologist)</span> Paleoanthropologist, physical anthropologist, archaeologist

Lee Rogers Berger is an American-born South African paleoanthropologist and National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence. He is best known for his discovery of the Australopithecus sediba type site, Malapa; his leadership of Rising Star Expedition in the excavation of Homo naledi at Rising Star Cave; and the Taung Bird of Prey Hypothesis.

<i>Rubidgea</i> Extinct genus of therapsids

Rubidgea is a genus of gorgonopsid from the upper Permian of South Africa and Tanzania, containing the species Rubidgea atrox. The generic name Rubidgea is sometimes believed to be derived from the surname of renowned Karoo paleontologist, Professor Bruce Rubidge, who has contributed to much of the research conducted on therapsids of the Karoo Basin. However, this generic name was actually erected in honor of Rubidge's paternal grandfather, Sydney Rubidge, who was a renowned fossil hunter. Its species name atrox is derived from Latin, meaning “fierce, savage, terrible”. Rubidgea is part of the gorgonopsian subfamily Rubidgeinae, a derived group of large-bodied gorgonopsians restricted to the Late Permian (Lopingian). The subfamily Rubidgeinae first appeared in the Tropidostoma Assemblage Zone. They reached their highest diversity in the Cistecephalus and Daptocephalus assemblage zones of the Beaufort Group in South Africa.

<i>Lemurosaurus</i> Extinct genus of therapsids

Lemurosaurus is a genus of extinct biarmosuchian therapsids from the Late Permian of South Africa. The generic epithet Lemursaurus is a mix of Latin, lemures “ghosts, spirits”, and Greek, sauros, “lizard”. Lemurosaurus is easily identifiable by its prominent eye crests, and large eyes. The name Lemurosaurus pricei was coined by paleontologist Robert Broom in 1949, based on a single small crushed skull, measured at approximately 86 millimeters in length, found on the Dorsfontein farm in Graaff-Reinet. To date, only two skulls of the Lemurosaurus have been discovered, so body size is unknown. The second larger, more intact, skull was found in 1974 by a team from the National Museum, Bloemfontein.

Makapansgat is an archaeological location within the Makapansgat and Zwartkrans Valleys, northeast of Mokopane in Limpopo province, South Africa. It is an important palaeontological site, with the local limeworks containing Australopithecus-bearing deposits dating to between 3.0 and 2.6 million years BP. The whole Makapan Valley has been declared a South African Heritage Site. Makapansgat belongs to the Cradle of Humankind.

<i>Pelanomodon</i> Extinct genus of dicynodonts

Pelanomodon is an extinct genus of dicynodont therapsids that lived in the Late Permian period. Fossil evidence of this genus is principally found in the Karoo Basin of South Africa, in the Dicynodon Assemblage Zone. Lack of fossil record after the Late Permian epoch suggests that Pelanomodon fell victim to the Permian-Triassic extinction event.

The Osteodontokeraticculture (ODK) is a hypothesis that was developed by Prof. Raymond Dart, which detailed the predatory habits of Australopith species in South Africa involving the manufacture and use of osseous implements. Dart envisaged Australopithecus africanus, known from Taung and Sterkfontein caves, and Australopithecus prometheus from Makapansgat, as carnivorous, cannibalistic predators who utilized bone and horn implements to hunt various animals, such as antelopes and primates, as well as other Australopiths.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katberg Formation</span> Geological formation in the Beaufort Group of the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa

The Katberg Formation is a geological formation that is found in the Beaufort Group, a major geological group that forms part of the greater Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The Katberg Formation is the lowermost geological formation of the Tarkastad Subgroup which contains the Lower to Middle Triassic-aged rocks of the Beaufort Group. Outcrops and exposures of the Katberg Formation are found east of 24 degrees on wards and north of Graaff-Reniet, Nieu Bethesda, Cradock, Fort Beaufort, Queensdown, and East London in the south, and ranges as far north as Harrismith in deposits that form a ring around the Drakensberg mountain ranges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middleton Formation</span> Late middle Permian geological formation in the Eastern Cape

The Middleton Formation is a geological formation that extends through the Northern Cape, Western Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. It overlies the lower Abrahamskraal Formation, and is the eastern correlate, East of 24ºE, of the Teekloof Formation. Outcrops and exposures of the Middleton Formation range from Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape onwards. The Middleton Formation's type locality lies near the small hamlet, Middleton, approximately 25 km south of Cookhouse. Other exposures lie in hillsides along the Great Fish River in the Eastern Cape. The Middleton Formation forms part of the Adelaide Subgroup of the Beaufort Group, which itself forms part of the Karoo Supergroup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teekloof Formation</span> Late Permian geological formation that forms part of the Beaufort Group of South Africa

The Teekloof Formation is a geological formation that forms part of the Beaufort Group, one of the five geological groups that comprises the Karoo Supergroup in South Africa. The Teekloof Formation is the uppermost formation of Adelaide Subgroup deposits West of 24ºE and contains Middle to Late Permian-aged deposits and four biozones of the Beaufort Group. It overlies the Abrahamskraal Formation. The Teekloof Formation does not underlie other units other than the younger Karoo dolerites and sills that relate to the emplacement of the Early Jurassic Drakensberg Group to the east. Outcrops and exposures of the Teekloof Formation range from Sutherland through the mountain escarpments between Fraserburg and Beaufort West. The northernmost localities of the Teekloof Formation are found by Loxton, Victoria West and Richmond.

Bolt's Farm is a palaeontological site in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site, Gauteng province, South Africa. With more than 30 fossil deposits dating back 4.5 Ma, it is one of the oldest sites currently discovered in the Cradle of Humankind. It consists of multiple cavities, pits, and quarries, where caves have eroded away, exposing their fossiliferous interiors. Although this site has not yet yielded the hominid fossils for which the Cradle of Humankind is known, Bolt's Farm is still an important source of fossils from various species of Early Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene fauna, including primates and big cats.

References

  1. ↑ "Victoria Falls Power Company". Archived from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. ↑ Hales, A.L., 1960. Research at the Bernard Price Institute of Geophysical Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. A, 258(1292), pp.1-26.
  3. ↑ "Biographies: Robert Broom".
  4. ↑ "Obituary: Betty Price". Archived from the original on 6 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Inside front cover". South African Journal of Science. 75 (2). 1 February 1979. ISSN   0038-2353.
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