For more information, click here. Or, Try these sources:
- Thackeray, D. (n.d.). "MRS PLES" AND OUR DISTANT RELATIVES.
- Herries, A.I.R., Shaw, J. 2011. Palaeomagnetic analysis of the Sterkfontein palaeocave deposits; age implications for the hominin fossils and stone tool industries. J. Human Evolution. 60, 523-539.
Mrs. Ples is the popular nickname for the most complete skull of an Australopithecus africanus ever found in South Africa. Many Australopithecus fossils have been found near Sterkfontein, about 40 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, in a region of the Transvaal now designated as the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Mrs. Ples was discovered by Robert Broom and John T. Robinson on April 18, 1947. Because of Broom's use of dynamite and pickaxe while excavating, Mrs. Ples’ skull was blown into two pieces and some fragments are missing. Nonetheless, Mrs./Mr. Ples is one of the most perfect pre-human skulls ever found. The nickname ″Mrs. Ples″ was coined by Broom's young co-workers. It derives from the scientific designation Plesianthropus transvaalensis (near-man from the Transvaal), that Broom initially gave the skull, later subsumed into the species Australopithecus africanus. In scientific publications the specimen is referred to by its catalogue number, STS 5.
- Grine, F E, Weber, G W, Plavcan, J M, et al. (2012). Sex at sterkfontein: ‘mrs. ples’ is still an adult female. Journal of human evolution, 62(5), 593-604.