was derived from antelope; many came from quite large species and 

 there was a remarkable disproportionate representation in skeletal 

 parts. Some parts were present among the bones preserved and there 

 were curious discrepancies. For instance, in the antelope humerus, 

 overall a very common bone in the assemblage, the distal end was 

 ten times more prevalent than the proximal end. Where animals 

 other than antelope were concerned, such as baboons and hominids, 

 it was common to find only the skull, with no trace of the rest of 

 the skeleton. To explain these curious discrepancies, Dart proposed 

 that the pile of bones had resulted from the exploits of the austra- 

 lopithecines, who he visualized as having been powerful hunters, 

 capable of killing the most dangerous animals of the time. He be- 

 lieved that they brought bones back to their cave shelters, but only 

 the parts that would be useful as tools and weapons. The distal end 

 of an antelope humerus, for instance, made a useful club and so it 

 was retained, while the proximal end, together with various other 

 parts, were discarded at the site of the kill. He developed the concept 

 of an "osteodontokeratic culture" (Dart, 1957a, 1957b) which ex- 

 plains how a large variety of bones would have been used in various 

 ways. In presenting his concept of "the predatory transition from 

 ape to man," he used powerful prose: 



On this thesis man's predecessors differed from living apes in being confirmed 

 killers: carnivorous creatures that seized living quarries by violence, battered them 

 to death, tore apart their broken bodies, dismembered them limb from limb, slaking 

 their ravenous thirst with the hot blood of victims and greedily devouring livid 

 writhing flesh. (Dart, 1953) 



To explain the fact that the fossil hominids were represented by 

 little more than skulls, Dart proposed that they had been "head 

 hunters" and "professional decapitators," presenting his ideas in a 

 series of 39 publications on the topic between 1949 and 1965. Writ- 

 ing about "the mighty hunters" of Makapansgat, he concluded: 



They were also callous and brutal. The most shocking specimen was the fractured 

 lower jaw of a 12-year-old son of a man-like ape. The lad had been killed by a 

 violent blow delivered with calculated accuracy on the point of the chin, either by 

 a smashing fist or a club. The bludgeon blow was so vicious that it had shattered 

 the jaw on both sides of the face and knocked out all the front teeth. This dramatic 

 specimen impelled me in 1948 and the seven years following to study further their 

 murderous and cannibalistic way of life. (Dart, 1956) 



