John Hawks

John Hawks

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taxonomy

Julurens: a new cousin for Denisovans and Neanderthals
A new study suggests that the Middle Pleistocene record in China includes more groups than have previously been recognized.
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John Hawks
Guide to Australopithecus species
These ancient human relatives include the first species with evidence of upright walking and running like humans. They represent more than a third of…
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John Hawks
Research highlight: Mandibles from Malapa
My research with Lee Berger looking at the variation of the mandibular ramus of Australopithecus sediba.
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John Hawks
How did English come to have different words for "ape" and "monkey"?
The etymology of our words for living primates gives some insight into how common ideas adjusted to new scientific knowledge.
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John Hawks
A critical look at the idea of Australopithecus prometheus
A historical perspective on a species name that was associated with fossils from Makapansgat, South Africa.
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John Hawks
Two anthropologists float some curious notions about Homo naledi
I look at views expressed by Jeffrey Schwartz and Tim White about the anatomy of Homo naledi and its relationships with other hominins.
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John Hawks
Should there be a new genus to contain Homo habilis?
A perspective article by Bernard Wood reviews the history of Homo habilis and suggests that the species should go its own way.
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John Hawks
Some say humans are apes, but I disagree
Confusing biological terminology with ordinary language terms is just confusing people.
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John Hawks
For Linnaeus, classification followed from the new idea that species were fixed
A recent book by Ronald Amundson discusses the philosophical shift in the way that eighteenth-century naturalists viewed species.
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John Hawks
How the PhyloCode would change names in human evolution
A detailed post on a taxonomic proposal, with consideration of the idea that humans and our fossil relatives should be hominins instead of hominids.
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John Hawks
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