I am a biological anthropologist and a vertebrate paleontologist with research interests in the phylogeny, functional morphology, dental development and life history of Primates. I do fieldwork in vertebrate paleontology across the Paleocene-Eocene boundary in the Great Divide Basin of southwestern Wyoming. Recently I have been exploring applications of Geographic Information Sciences to vertebrate paleontology. Supervisors: Gerald Eck and Daris Swindler Phone: office 336-256-1189 Address: Department of Anthropology University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 27412
The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an op... more The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature and breadth of our discipline. According to the publisher, the aim of this series is to offer “comprehensive syntheses of the traditional subdisciplines, primary subjects, and geographic areas of inquiry…and a cutting edge guide to the emerging research and intellectual trends in the field as a whole.” In this, the seventh title in the series, editor Clark Spencer Larsen and a large (N = 40), diverse group of authors have succeeded brilliantly in describing the wide range of issues and themes of interest to biological anthropologists, as well as summarizing what we know, and sometimes what we don't know, about these questions. As the editor explicitly points out in his Introduction, the central paradigm of biological anthropology is evolutionary theory. I should say that I use the term paradigm in the sense of a lens or explanatory framework with wh...
The condylarths, or archaic ungulates, are a paraphyletic mammalian group including a number of f... more The condylarths, or archaic ungulates, are a paraphyletic mammalian group including a number of fossil taxa whose relationships are unresolved. Included are two genera from the Paleocene and Eocene of North America, Meniscotherium and Phenacodus. Some workers place both genera in the family Phenacodontidae, while others exclude the highly dentally derived Meniscotherium. In this study, we use growth increments in histological thin sections to examine the timing of crown formation in five molars of Meniscotherium and one each of Phenacodusintermedius and Phenacodus trilobatus. We also use perikymata counts on an additional six molars of Meniscotherium. Although estimated body mass and molar dimensions in Meniscotherium are smaller than in either species of Phenacodus, molar formation times are longer, ranging from 0.71 to 1.44 years. Both Phenacodus molars take less than a year to form. Crown extension rates, the rate at which the crown grows in height, are as low as 3-15 microm per ...
Successful identification of fossil-bearing sedimentary deposits in the field typically requires ... more Successful identification of fossil-bearing sedimentary deposits in the field typically requires expert knowledge in geology and anatomy and some degree of luck. One way to reduce the role of serendipity is to develop an empirical model that increases the likelihood of locating productive fossil-bearing deposits by identifying combinations of geological, geospatial and spectral features that are common to productive localities.
Chance and serendipity have long played a role in the location of productive fossil localities by... more Chance and serendipity have long played a role in the location of productive fossil localities by vertebrate paleontologists and paleoanthropologists. We offer an alternative approach, informed by methods borrowed from the geographic information sciences and using recent advances in computer science, to more efficiently predict where fossil localities might be found. Our model uses an artificial neural network (ANN) that is trained to recognize the spectral characteristics of known productive localities and other land cover classes, such as forest, wetlands, and scrubland, within a study area based on the analysis of remotely sensed (RS) imagery. Using these spectral signatures, the model then classifies other pixels throughout the study area. The results of the neural network classification can be examined and further manipulated within a geographic information systems (GIS) software package. While we have developed and tested this model on fossil mammal localities in deposits of P...
The incorporation of research tools and analytical approaches from the geospatial sciences is a w... more The incorporation of research tools and analytical approaches from the geospatial sciences is a welcome trend for the study of primate and human evolution. The use of remote sensing (RS) imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) allows vertebrate paleontologists, paleoanthropologists, and functional morphologists to study fossil localities, landscapes, and individual specimens in new and innovative ways that recognize and analyze the spatial nature of much paleoanthropological data. Whether one is interested in locating and mapping fossiliferous rock units in the field, creating a searchable and georeferenced database to catalog fossil localities and specimens, or studying the functional morphology of fossil teeth, bones, or artifacts, the new geospatial sciences provide an essential element in modern paleoanthropological inquiry. In this article we review recent successful applications of RS and GIS within paleoanthropology and related fields and argue for the importance of ...
The Clarkforkian (latest Paleocene) North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) remains a relatively p... more The Clarkforkian (latest Paleocene) North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) remains a relatively poorly sampled biostratigraphic interval at the close of the Paleocene epoch that is best known from the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming. A period of global warming between the cooler early and middle Paleocene and the extreme warming of the early Eocene, the Clarkforkian witnessed significant floral and faunal turnover with important ramifications for the development of Cenozoic biotas. The combination of warming global climates with mammalian turnover (including likely intercontinental dispersals) marks the Clarkforkian and the succeeding Wasatchian (Earliest Eocene) NALMAs as periods of intense interest to paleobiologists and other earth scientists concerned with aspects of biostratigraphy and with the biotic effects of climate change in the past. In this paper we describe a new Clarkforkian mammalian fauna from the Great Divide Basin of southwestern Wyoming with some surprising ...
The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an op... more The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature and breadth of our discipline. According to the publisher, the aim of this series is to offer “comprehensive syntheses of the traditional subdisciplines, primary subjects, and geographic areas of inquiry…and a cutting edge guide to the emerging research and intellectual trends in the field as a whole.” In this, the seventh title in the series, editor Clark Spencer Larsen and a large (N = 40), diverse group of authors have succeeded brilliantly in describing the wide range of issues and themes of interest to biological anthropologists, as well as summarizing what we know, and sometimes what we don't know, about these questions. As the editor explicitly points out in his Introduction, the central paradigm of biological anthropology is evolutionary theory. I should say that I use the term paradigm in the sense of a lens or explanatory framework with wh...
The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an op... more The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature and breadth of our discipline. According to the publisher, the aim of this series is to offer “comprehensive syntheses of the traditional subdisciplines, primary subjects, and geographic areas of inquiry…and a cutting edge guide to the emerging research and intellectual trends in the field as a whole.” In this, the seventh title in the series, editor Clark Spencer Larsen and a large (N = 40), diverse group of authors have succeeded brilliantly in describing the wide range of issues and themes of interest to biological anthropologists, as well as summarizing what we know, and sometimes what we don't know, about these questions. As the editor explicitly points out in his Introduction, the central paradigm of biological anthropology is evolutionary theory. I should say that I use the term paradigm in the sense of a lens or explanatory framework with wh...
The condylarths, or archaic ungulates, are a paraphyletic mammalian group including a number of f... more The condylarths, or archaic ungulates, are a paraphyletic mammalian group including a number of fossil taxa whose relationships are unresolved. Included are two genera from the Paleocene and Eocene of North America, Meniscotherium and Phenacodus. Some workers place both genera in the family Phenacodontidae, while others exclude the highly dentally derived Meniscotherium. In this study, we use growth increments in histological thin sections to examine the timing of crown formation in five molars of Meniscotherium and one each of Phenacodusintermedius and Phenacodus trilobatus. We also use perikymata counts on an additional six molars of Meniscotherium. Although estimated body mass and molar dimensions in Meniscotherium are smaller than in either species of Phenacodus, molar formation times are longer, ranging from 0.71 to 1.44 years. Both Phenacodus molars take less than a year to form. Crown extension rates, the rate at which the crown grows in height, are as low as 3-15 microm per ...
Successful identification of fossil-bearing sedimentary deposits in the field typically requires ... more Successful identification of fossil-bearing sedimentary deposits in the field typically requires expert knowledge in geology and anatomy and some degree of luck. One way to reduce the role of serendipity is to develop an empirical model that increases the likelihood of locating productive fossil-bearing deposits by identifying combinations of geological, geospatial and spectral features that are common to productive localities.
Chance and serendipity have long played a role in the location of productive fossil localities by... more Chance and serendipity have long played a role in the location of productive fossil localities by vertebrate paleontologists and paleoanthropologists. We offer an alternative approach, informed by methods borrowed from the geographic information sciences and using recent advances in computer science, to more efficiently predict where fossil localities might be found. Our model uses an artificial neural network (ANN) that is trained to recognize the spectral characteristics of known productive localities and other land cover classes, such as forest, wetlands, and scrubland, within a study area based on the analysis of remotely sensed (RS) imagery. Using these spectral signatures, the model then classifies other pixels throughout the study area. The results of the neural network classification can be examined and further manipulated within a geographic information systems (GIS) software package. While we have developed and tested this model on fossil mammal localities in deposits of P...
The incorporation of research tools and analytical approaches from the geospatial sciences is a w... more The incorporation of research tools and analytical approaches from the geospatial sciences is a welcome trend for the study of primate and human evolution. The use of remote sensing (RS) imagery and geographic information systems (GIS) allows vertebrate paleontologists, paleoanthropologists, and functional morphologists to study fossil localities, landscapes, and individual specimens in new and innovative ways that recognize and analyze the spatial nature of much paleoanthropological data. Whether one is interested in locating and mapping fossiliferous rock units in the field, creating a searchable and georeferenced database to catalog fossil localities and specimens, or studying the functional morphology of fossil teeth, bones, or artifacts, the new geospatial sciences provide an essential element in modern paleoanthropological inquiry. In this article we review recent successful applications of RS and GIS within paleoanthropology and related fields and argue for the importance of ...
The Clarkforkian (latest Paleocene) North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) remains a relatively p... more The Clarkforkian (latest Paleocene) North American Land Mammal Age (NALMA) remains a relatively poorly sampled biostratigraphic interval at the close of the Paleocene epoch that is best known from the Bighorn Basin of northwestern Wyoming. A period of global warming between the cooler early and middle Paleocene and the extreme warming of the early Eocene, the Clarkforkian witnessed significant floral and faunal turnover with important ramifications for the development of Cenozoic biotas. The combination of warming global climates with mammalian turnover (including likely intercontinental dispersals) marks the Clarkforkian and the succeeding Wasatchian (Earliest Eocene) NALMAs as periods of intense interest to paleobiologists and other earth scientists concerned with aspects of biostratigraphy and with the biotic effects of climate change in the past. In this paper we describe a new Clarkforkian mammalian fauna from the Great Divide Basin of southwestern Wyoming with some surprising ...
The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an op... more The publication of a new volume in the Blackwell Companions to Anthropology series provides an opportunity to reflect on the nature and breadth of our discipline. According to the publisher, the aim of this series is to offer “comprehensive syntheses of the traditional subdisciplines, primary subjects, and geographic areas of inquiry…and a cutting edge guide to the emerging research and intellectual trends in the field as a whole.” In this, the seventh title in the series, editor Clark Spencer Larsen and a large (N = 40), diverse group of authors have succeeded brilliantly in describing the wide range of issues and themes of interest to biological anthropologists, as well as summarizing what we know, and sometimes what we don't know, about these questions. As the editor explicitly points out in his Introduction, the central paradigm of biological anthropology is evolutionary theory. I should say that I use the term paradigm in the sense of a lens or explanatory framework with wh...
Education Ph.D. University of Washington Biological Anthropology March 1988 B.A. University of Or... more Education Ph.D. University of Washington Biological Anthropology March 1988 B.A. University of Oregon Anthropology December 1976 Miami University, Ohio 1972-1975 Dissertation "The Functional Morphology of the Prosimian Hindlimb: Some Correlates Between Anatomy and Positional Behavior" Thesis Advisor: Gerald G. Eck. Committee: Daris R. Swindler (deceased), John M. Rensberger, Peter A. Nute (deceased)
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