Harry the Hominid – Controversy? What Controversy?

March 11, 2011

Harry is covered by a scarf at the Gauteng exhibition stand. Harry is covered by a scarf at the Gauteng exhibition stand.

Meet Harry the Hominid. Harry is over 2-million years old, and he lives at Maropeng – the visitors’ centre to the Cradle of Humankind. Harry is the official tour guide for Maropeng and he causes quite a stir.

Harry is a member of the species Australopithecus africanus, a distant ancestor of modern humans. He is meant to provide a visual representation of our evolutionary history, as well as a reconstruction of the kinds of fossils found in the Cradle of Humankind, such as “Mrs Ples”.

Apparently, some people take exception to Harry. He (or at least a very lifelike cutout of him) is currently in Germany representing Gauteng at the ITB Berlin 2011 tourism convention. Reactions to Harry from overseas visitors to ITB have also been mixed according to Erica Jago, Maropeng’s general manager, who is accompanying Harry on his German tour.

Why all the controversy? Jago believes that some people see Harry as a direct confrontation of their beliefs about how the human race got here. Not everyone believes in evolution, and of those that do, not everyone agrees about the details of the theory. Seeing a life-sized, ape-like man brings out strong emotions in some.

“Harry always receives mixed reactions,” says Jago. “But that’s the beauty of Maropeng. You don’t necessarily need to agree with everything you see here. You can experience the exhibition and still hold onto your views.”

The Gauteng Tourism Authority has taken Harry to the ITB convention to promote the Cradle of Humankind as Gauteng’s flagship tourist attraction. You can even have your photograph taken with Harry, but for some this is a step too far, it seems! Says Jago, “It is very interesting watching people’s reactions to him. Some people find it offensive and become quite aggressive towards us; others can’t wait to take their picture and share it with their friends.”

There is one thing in particular about Harry that bothers certain people, and it has nothing to do with the theory of evolution. It’s the simple fact that Harry doesn’t wear any clothes! Clearly some people have never heard of The Naked Ape.

 

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