Davidson Black

From Freepedia

Davidson Black (1884 – 1934) was a Canadian paleoanthropologist, best known for his discovery of Sinanthropus pekinensis (now Homo erectus pekinensis). He was Chairman of the Geological Survey of China. He was a Fellow of the Royal Society. He was known as 步達生 in China.

Biography

Davidson Black was born in 1884, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. When he was young, he would carry heavy loads of supplies for the Hudsons Bay Company. He also enjoyed collecting fossils. He also became friends with First Nations people, in addition to learning one First Nations language.

In 1906, Black gained a degree in medical science. He continued in School studying comparative anatomy. In 1909 he became an anatomy instructor. In 1914 he spent half a year working under neuroanatomist Grafton Elliot Smith. This began an interest in human evolution.

In 1919, he went to Peking, China, in order to work at Peking Union Medical College. As he hypothesized early humans lived in Central Asia, he planned on going on a search for human fossils in 1926, though the College encourgaed him to concentrate on his teaching obligations. The following year, with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, he began his search. He discovered a Homo erectus pekinensis tooth, which he thought belonged to a new human species, named (by him) Sinanthropus pekinensis. His find greatly expanded the knowledge of human evolution.

He married his wife, Adena Nevit, in 1913, who accompanied him on his trips. They had two children together.

In 1934, he died of heart problems at age 49.

Dissimilar to most Caucasians of his era, Davidson Black tolerated and respected his Chinese coworkers. In return, he was well liked by many of them, who put flowers on his grave after his death.

External Links

• Talk.origins page on Black
• Science.ca profile
• Canadian encyclopedia page
• Historica Minutes film on Black
• Collections page
• Black's Canadian Birthdays page