This book chapter deals with a brief history of the discovery of Neandertals in the 1800s and how... more This book chapter deals with a brief history of the discovery of Neandertals in the 1800s and how the scientific thinking of the time may have led to the misinterpretation of the data from the skeletal remains, thus leading to the mistreatment of the human group in the popular culture. The chapter continues to document the major skeletal traits that define the group and offer new and revised interpretations both from other works and from my own perspectives. Key to these morphological works are the cold adaptive traits that led to the robusticity of the skeletal forms of the group, thus being used as a means to separate them from the human taxon. On the pathological remains, this work joins others in illustrating their significance in painting the new picture on the human group, whereby, the presence of diseases is interpreted as a sign of good health (the health-disease paradox) and survivorship. Another important matter to this line of thinking is the realization that social group...
Two catarrhine mandibles and five isolated teeth have been discovered from Early Miocene localiti... more Two catarrhine mandibles and five isolated teeth have been discovered from Early Miocene localities in Western Kenya. One mandible comes from the well-known locality of Songhor whereas the other is from a newly discovered locality, Lower Kapurtay, located near Songhor. The mandibles both can clearly be assigned to the species Rangwapithecus gordoni based on molar morphology, which is unique among Early Miocene catarrhines. The isolated specimens can be assigned to Rangwapithecus based on their similarities in morphology to the homologues preserved in the two mandibles. These specimens provide important new information about the dentognathic morphology of Rangwapithecus, which is described in detail. The mandible from Songhor (KNM-SO 22228) represents the first definitive female mandible of Rangwapithecus. The Lower Kapurtay mandible (KNM-KT 31234) appears to be male but is much smaller than another recently described male mandible of this species (KNM-SO 17500) and the type maxilla (KNM-SO 700). These specimens enable a reassessment of the attributions of all other mandibles and isolated lower teeth of Rangwapithecus, and we present a complete hypodigm of the mandibular and lower dental material for the species. Finally, we provide some additions to the diagnosis of Rangwapithecus gordoni based on previously unknown morphology.
This study applies both phenetic and evolutionary methods in a reappraisal of African Homo erectu... more This study applies both phenetic and evolutionary methods in a reappraisal of African Homo erectus fossils. Both measurements and discrete morphological observations are made on cranial, mandibular and dental remains from all of the important African localities. Fossils from Dmanisi and localities in China and the Far East are treated in comparisons. The aims of this research are to reassess the population biology of African Homo erectus, sort the fossils into paleo-demes, determine the nature of morphological patterning, test the use of paleo-demes as Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in intra-taxic analysis, and to reconstruct possible evolutionary relationships of the African sample with Asian Homo erectus and other members of the genus Homo. Results of univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses provide a firmer basis for recognizing regional differences and long-term trends within the Homo erectus hypodigm. For instance, the multivariate results confirms close affinities o...
New early Miocene forelimb fossils have been recovered from the Songhor and Lower Kapurtay locali... more New early Miocene forelimb fossils have been recovered from the Songhor and Lower Kapurtay localities in southwestern Kenya. We describe four specimens that are similar in size and functional capabilities. Their specific allocation is problematic but these forelimb specimens must belong to either Rangwapithecus gordoni or Proconsul africanus. If these new postcranial specimens should belong to R. gordoni, on the basis of size and common dental specimens found at Songhor, they represent a new elbow complex. The morphology of these fossils is anatomically and functionally similar to that of Proconsul. The proconsuloid elbow complex allows extensive forelimb rotations and is capable of performing arboreal quadrupedalism and climbing activities. No suspensory adaptations are apparent. The proconsuloid elbow complex remains a good ancestral condition for hominoid primates.
This book chapter deals with a brief history of the discovery of Neandertals in the 1800s and how... more This book chapter deals with a brief history of the discovery of Neandertals in the 1800s and how the scientific thinking of the time may have led to the misinterpretation of the data from the skeletal remains, thus leading to the mistreatment of the human group in the popular culture. The chapter continues to document the major skeletal traits that define the group and offer new and revised interpretations both from other works and from my own perspectives. Key to these morphological works are the cold adaptive traits that led to the robusticity of the skeletal forms of the group, thus being used as a means to separate them from the human taxon. On the pathological remains, this work joins others in illustrating their significance in painting the new picture on the human group, whereby, the presence of diseases is interpreted as a sign of good health (the health-disease paradox) and survivorship. Another important matter to this line of thinking is the realization that social group...
Two catarrhine mandibles and five isolated teeth have been discovered from Early Miocene localiti... more Two catarrhine mandibles and five isolated teeth have been discovered from Early Miocene localities in Western Kenya. One mandible comes from the well-known locality of Songhor whereas the other is from a newly discovered locality, Lower Kapurtay, located near Songhor. The mandibles both can clearly be assigned to the species Rangwapithecus gordoni based on molar morphology, which is unique among Early Miocene catarrhines. The isolated specimens can be assigned to Rangwapithecus based on their similarities in morphology to the homologues preserved in the two mandibles. These specimens provide important new information about the dentognathic morphology of Rangwapithecus, which is described in detail. The mandible from Songhor (KNM-SO 22228) represents the first definitive female mandible of Rangwapithecus. The Lower Kapurtay mandible (KNM-KT 31234) appears to be male but is much smaller than another recently described male mandible of this species (KNM-SO 17500) and the type maxilla (KNM-SO 700). These specimens enable a reassessment of the attributions of all other mandibles and isolated lower teeth of Rangwapithecus, and we present a complete hypodigm of the mandibular and lower dental material for the species. Finally, we provide some additions to the diagnosis of Rangwapithecus gordoni based on previously unknown morphology.
This study applies both phenetic and evolutionary methods in a reappraisal of African Homo erectu... more This study applies both phenetic and evolutionary methods in a reappraisal of African Homo erectus fossils. Both measurements and discrete morphological observations are made on cranial, mandibular and dental remains from all of the important African localities. Fossils from Dmanisi and localities in China and the Far East are treated in comparisons. The aims of this research are to reassess the population biology of African Homo erectus, sort the fossils into paleo-demes, determine the nature of morphological patterning, test the use of paleo-demes as Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs) in intra-taxic analysis, and to reconstruct possible evolutionary relationships of the African sample with Asian Homo erectus and other members of the genus Homo. Results of univariate, bivariate and multivariate analyses provide a firmer basis for recognizing regional differences and long-term trends within the Homo erectus hypodigm. For instance, the multivariate results confirms close affinities o...
New early Miocene forelimb fossils have been recovered from the Songhor and Lower Kapurtay locali... more New early Miocene forelimb fossils have been recovered from the Songhor and Lower Kapurtay localities in southwestern Kenya. We describe four specimens that are similar in size and functional capabilities. Their specific allocation is problematic but these forelimb specimens must belong to either Rangwapithecus gordoni or Proconsul africanus. If these new postcranial specimens should belong to R. gordoni, on the basis of size and common dental specimens found at Songhor, they represent a new elbow complex. The morphology of these fossils is anatomically and functionally similar to that of Proconsul. The proconsuloid elbow complex allows extensive forelimb rotations and is capable of performing arboreal quadrupedalism and climbing activities. No suspensory adaptations are apparent. The proconsuloid elbow complex remains a good ancestral condition for hominoid primates.
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