taxonomy
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 our evolutionary history.
Research highlight: Mandibles from Malapa
My research with Lee Berger looking at the variation of the mandibular ramus of Australopithecus sediba.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Some say humans are apes, but I disagree
I don’t know why so many people who accept and promote evolution have such a dim view of phylogenetic systematics. How else to explain why I so often hear the canard, “Humans are apes”? My children can tell what an ape is. I work very hard to tell them
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.
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.