Phillip V. Tobias
Encyclopedia
Phillip Vallentine Tobias (born on 14 October 1925 in Durban
, Natal) is a South Africa
n palaeoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Witwatersrand
in Johannesburg
. He is best known for his pioneering work at South Africa
's famous hominid fossil sites, and is one of the world's leading authorities on the evolution of humankind.
, Natal on 14 October 1925, the only son and second child of Joseph Newman Tobias and Fanny Rosendorff, Phillip received his first schooling in Bloemfontein
and Durban
. In 1945, he started his career as demonstrator in histology and instructor in physiology at the University of Witwatersrand. He received his B.Sc.(Hons) in Histology and Physiology in 1946-1947 and graduated in Medicine, M.B., B.Ch in 1950. He was appointed as a lecturer in anatomy in 1951. In 1953, he received his Ph.D. for a thesis entitled Chromosomes, Sex-Cells, and Evolution in the Gerbil.
In 1955, Tobias started his post-graduate research at Cambridge University, England, where he filled the position of Nuffield Dominion Senior Traveling Fellow in physical anthropology. The following year, at the University of Michigan
at Ann Arbor and the University of Chicago
, he was the Rockefeller Traveling Fellow in anthropology, human genetics, and dental anatomy and growth. In 1959, he became Professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Human Biology, succeeding his mentor and eminent scholar, Professor Raymond Dart
. In 1967, he was awarded a D.Sc. in palaeoanthropology for his work on hominid evolution. During this period he attended the University of the Witwatersrand. He was Dean of Medicine from 1980 to 1982. He was appointed Honorary Professor of Palaeoanthropology at the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
in 1977 and Honorary Professor in Zoology in 1981.
Tobias has excavated at the Sterkfontein caves and worked at almost all other major sites in Southern Africa since 1945. He has also opened some 25 archaeological sites in Botswana
during the French Panhard-Capricorn Expedition while conducting a biological survey of the Tonga People of Zimbabwe. He was one of the anthropologists instrumental in unmasking the Piltdown fraud.
, the Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe
, and numerous black tribes of Southern Africa. Tobias is best known for his research on hominid fossils and human evolution, having studied and described hominid fossils from Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. His best known work was on the hominids of East Africa, particularly those of the Olduvai Gorge
. Collaborating with Louis Leakey
, Tobias identified, described and named the new species Homo habilis
. Cambridge University Press published two volumes on the fossils of Homo habilis from the Olduvai Gorge. He is closely linked with the archaeological excavation at the Sterkfontein
site, a research programme he initiated in 1966. The Sterkfontein cave has seen the most sustained excavation of a single site in the world. This site has yielded the largest single sample of Australopithecus africanus
as well as the first known example of Homo habilis from Southern Africa. It is now a World Heritage Site
.
's most honoured and decorated scientists, and a world leading expert on human prehistoric ancestors; he has been nominated three times for a Nobel Prize
, received a dozen honorary doctorates and been awarded South Africa's Order for Meritorious Service.
Tobias has published over 600 journal articles and authored or co-authored 33 books and edited or co-edited eight others.He has received honorary degrees from seventeen universities and other academic institutions in South Africa, the United States of America, Canada and Europe. He has been elected as a fellow, associate or honorary member of over 28 learned societies. These include being elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences
(USA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London(1996). Among the very many medals, awards and prizes he has received are the Balzan Prize
for Physical Anthropology (1987) and the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
(1997). The Royal Society of South Africa is very sparing with its honours, and Tobias is one of only two South African Honorary Fellows of the Society and one of very few recipients of its senior medal, the John Herschel
Medal.
He holds the positions of Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Honorary Professor of Palaeo-anthropology, Honorary Professorial Research Associate and Director of the Sterkfontein
Research Unit, and Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large of Cornell University
, Ithaca, New York USA. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, University of KwaZulu-Natal
, Cambridge University and other institutions. He has taught over 10 000 students during his fifty years of service at Wits Medical School.
He was an outspoken critic of institutionalised apartheid and campaigned actively for its abolition.
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Natal) is a South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n palaeoanthropologist and Professor Emeritus at the University of the Witwatersrand
University of the Witwatersrand
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
in Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. He is best known for his pioneering work at South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's famous hominid fossil sites, and is one of the world's leading authorities on the evolution of humankind.
Academic life
Born in DurbanDurban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
, Natal on 14 October 1925, the only son and second child of Joseph Newman Tobias and Fanny Rosendorff, Phillip received his first schooling in Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
and Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. In 1945, he started his career as demonstrator in histology and instructor in physiology at the University of Witwatersrand. He received his B.Sc.(Hons) in Histology and Physiology in 1946-1947 and graduated in Medicine, M.B., B.Ch in 1950. He was appointed as a lecturer in anatomy in 1951. In 1953, he received his Ph.D. for a thesis entitled Chromosomes, Sex-Cells, and Evolution in the Gerbil.
In 1955, Tobias started his post-graduate research at Cambridge University, England, where he filled the position of Nuffield Dominion Senior Traveling Fellow in physical anthropology. The following year, at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
at Ann Arbor and the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, he was the Rockefeller Traveling Fellow in anthropology, human genetics, and dental anatomy and growth. In 1959, he became Professor and Head of the Department of Anatomy and Human Biology, succeeding his mentor and eminent scholar, Professor Raymond Dart
Raymond Dart
Raymond Arthur Dart was an Australian anatomist and anthropologist, best known for his involvement in the 1924 discovery of the first fossil ever found of Australopithecus africanus, an extinct hominid closely related to humans, at Taung in the North of South Africa in the province...
. In 1967, he was awarded a D.Sc. in palaeoanthropology for his work on hominid evolution. During this period he attended the University of the Witwatersrand. He was Dean of Medicine from 1980 to 1982. He was appointed Honorary Professor of Palaeoanthropology at the Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
The Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research is part of the School of Geosciences in the Faculty of Science of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa...
in 1977 and Honorary Professor in Zoology in 1981.
Tobias has excavated at the Sterkfontein caves and worked at almost all other major sites in Southern Africa since 1945. He has also opened some 25 archaeological sites in Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
during the French Panhard-Capricorn Expedition while conducting a biological survey of the Tonga People of Zimbabwe. He was one of the anthropologists instrumental in unmasking the Piltdown fraud.
Research
His research has been mainly in the fields of paleoanthropology and the human biology of Africa's various populations. He has studied the Kalahari SanBushmen
The indigenous people of Southern Africa, whose territory spans most areas of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola, are variously referred to as Bushmen, San, Sho, Barwa, Kung, or Khwe...
, the Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe
Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe
The Tonga people of Zambia and Zimbabwe are a Bantu ethnic group of southern Zambia and neighbouring northern Zimbabwe, and to a lesser extent, in Mozambique. They are related to the Batoka who are part of the Tokaleya people in the same area, and also to the Tonga people of Malawi...
, and numerous black tribes of Southern Africa. Tobias is best known for his research on hominid fossils and human evolution, having studied and described hominid fossils from Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Zambia. His best known work was on the hominids of East Africa, particularly those of the Olduvai Gorge
Olduvai Gorge
The Olduvai Gorge is a steep-sided ravine in the Great Rift Valley that stretches through eastern Africa. It is in the eastern Serengeti Plains in northern Tanzania and is about long. It is located 45 km from the Laetoli archaeological site...
. Collaborating with Louis Leakey
Louis Leakey
Louis Seymour Bazett Leakey was a British archaeologist and naturalist whose work was important in establishing human evolutionary development in Africa. He also played a major role in creating organizations for future research in Africa and for protecting wildlife there...
, Tobias identified, described and named the new species Homo habilis
Homo habilis
Homo habilis is a species of the genus Homo, which lived from approximately at the beginning of the Pleistocene period. The discovery and description of this species is credited to both Mary and Louis Leakey, who found fossils in Tanzania, East Africa, between 1962 and 1964. Homo habilis Homo...
. Cambridge University Press published two volumes on the fossils of Homo habilis from the Olduvai Gorge. He is closely linked with the archaeological excavation at the Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein
-References:-References:-References:: : : :...
site, a research programme he initiated in 1966. The Sterkfontein cave has seen the most sustained excavation of a single site in the world. This site has yielded the largest single sample of Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus africanus
Australopithecus africanus was an early hominid, an australopithecine, who lived between 2–3 million years ago in the Pliocene. In common with the older Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus was slenderly built, or gracile, and was thought to have been a direct ancestor of modern humans. Fossil...
as well as the first known example of Homo habilis from Southern Africa. It is now a World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
.
Achievements and awards
Tobias is one of South AfricaSouth Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's most honoured and decorated scientists, and a world leading expert on human prehistoric ancestors; he has been nominated three times for a Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
, received a dozen honorary doctorates and been awarded South Africa's Order for Meritorious Service.
Tobias has published over 600 journal articles and authored or co-authored 33 books and edited or co-edited eight others.He has received honorary degrees from seventeen universities and other academic institutions in South Africa, the United States of America, Canada and Europe. He has been elected as a fellow, associate or honorary member of over 28 learned societies. These include being elected a foreign associate of the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(USA) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of London(1996). Among the very many medals, awards and prizes he has received are the Balzan Prize
Balzan Prize
The International Balzan Prize Foundation awards four annual monetary prizes to people or organisations who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of humanities, natural sciences, culture, as well as for endeavours for peace and the brotherhood of man.-Rewards and assets:Each year the...
for Physical Anthropology (1987) and the Charles R. Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists
American Association of Physical Anthropologists
The American Association of Physical Anthropologists is an American-based international scientific society of physical anthropologists. It was formed in 1930, with Morris Steggerda as one of its founding members. They have 1,700 members. They publish the American Journal of Physical...
(1997). The Royal Society of South Africa is very sparing with its honours, and Tobias is one of only two South African Honorary Fellows of the Society and one of very few recipients of its senior medal, the John Herschel
John Herschel
Sir John Frederick William Herschel, 1st Baronet KH, FRS ,was an English mathematician, astronomer, chemist, and experimental photographer/inventor, who in some years also did valuable botanical work...
Medal.
He holds the positions of Professor Emeritus of Anatomy and Human Biology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Honorary Professor of Palaeo-anthropology, Honorary Professorial Research Associate and Director of the Sterkfontein
Sterkfontein
-References:-References:-References:: : : :...
Research Unit, and Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large of Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
, Ithaca, New York USA. He has been a visiting professor at the University of Pennsylvania, University of KwaZulu-Natal
University of KwaZulu-Natal
The University of KwaZulu-Natal or UKZN is a university with five campuses all located in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. It was formed on 1 January 2004 after the merger between the University of Natal and the University of Durban-Westville.-History:-University of...
, Cambridge University and other institutions. He has taught over 10 000 students during his fifty years of service at Wits Medical School.
He was an outspoken critic of institutionalised apartheid and campaigned actively for its abolition.
Books
- Humanity from Naissance to Coming Millennia - This book covers important recent advances in human biologyBiologyBiology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and human evolutionEvolutionEvolution is any change across successive generations in the heritable characteristics of biological populations. Evolutionary processes give rise to diversity at every level of biological organisation, including species, individual organisms and molecules such as DNA and proteins.Life on Earth...
ary studies. The contributions cover a wide range of topics, from Human Biology, Human Evolution (Emerging Homo, Evolving Homo, Early Modern Humans), Dating, Taxonomy and Systematics, to Diet and Brain Evolution. - Into the Past - In this autobiographical work Tobias recounts the first 40 years of his life through anecdotes, experiences and philosophies.