Mrs Ples, noun

Origin:
EnglishShow more English Mrs + abbreviation of generic name Plesianthropus.
A nickname given to the skull of an Australopithecine man-ape of the lower Pleistocene period, found in 1947 at Sterkfontein in the former Transvaal (now in the province called Gauteng). See also Australopithecus.
1959 J.D. Clark Prehist. of S. Afr. 62The skull was that of a female and had come to be affectionately known as ‘Mrs Ples’...Broom said, ‘I have seen many interesting sights in my life, but this was the most thrilling.’
1970 R.A. Dart in Std Encycl. of Sn Afr. II. 536At the entrance to the Sterkfontein caves stands a bust of Broom with a replica of the so-called ‘Mrs Ples’, the ‘missing link’ which was found by Broom.
1984 S. Afr. Panorama Aug. 35Sterkfontein, where the first adult ape-man (Plesianthropus transvaalensis) known as ‘Mrs Ples’ was found. Mrs Ples is considered to belong to the same species as the material from Taung, Australopithecus africanus.
1989 Reader’s Digest Illust. Hist. of S. Afr. 16He found the almost perfectly preserved cranium of a female specimen, nicknamed ‘Mrs Ples,’ that had lived some 2,5-million years ago. Later, Mrs Ples and others of her genus were to be reclassified as Australopithicus africanus.
A nickname given to the skull of an Australopithecine man-ape of the lower Pleistocene period, found in 1947 at Sterkfontein in the former Transvaal (now in the province called Gauteng).
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19591989