Final answer:
Major fossil sites for preaustralopithecines and australopithecines include East Africa, with significant finds like Lucy in Ethiopia and the Laetoli footprints in Tanzania, and South Africa where the Taung child skull was discovered.
Step-by-step explanation:
Preaustralopithecines and australopithecines fossils have provided significant insights into human evolution. One of the key australopithecine fossils is that of a young female known as Lucy, discovered in Ethiopia, belonging to the species Australopithecus afarensis. This species lived around 3.75-2.8 million years ago (MYA), with Lucy specifically dated to about 3 million years ago. Her discovery, along with other specimens found in Kenya and Tanzania, highlights the importance of East Africa as a major site for understanding our ancestors.
Another significant australopithecine, Australopithecus africanus, was first discovered in 1924 in South Africa, with the renowned Taung child skull exemplifying early hominin features suggesting bipedalism. Other fossils, such as those of Homo naledi, have also been found in South Africa, specifically at the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. Mary Leakey's well-publicized discovery of the Laetoli footprints in Tanzania provides the clearest evidence of early hominin bipedalism dating back about 3.5 MYA.
These discoveries demonstrate the importance of various locations within Africa as major sites for australopithecine fossils, revealing aspects of hominin development such as bipedalism and brain size, which have profoundly influenced our understanding of human evolution.