How do we know how they died? The bones of some ancient
individuals can tell us how their owners died. Some individuals
had diseases that can be seen from the structure of their bones
or teeth. Some had physical injuries that produce unique types
of damage. Microscopes, X-rays, chemical analysis and other
laboratory techniques help reveal their stories. A leopard’s
lunch A two-million-year old fossil Paranthropus skullcap (SK
54) from Swartkrans in South Africa has provided some
interesting information about the death of one young individual.
The skullcap has been pierced leaving two small, round holes.
These holes have been perfectly matched to the canine teeth in
the jaw of an ancient species of leopard. It seems that a
leopard caught the adolescent and dragged its prey up into a
tree to eat, just as modern leopards do today. The left-overs
from this meal fell out of the tree and dropped into a cavity in
the ground below. This cavity was part of a cave system that
trapped the debris from many predators’ mea