Stand and Be Counted: The Neo-Darwinian Synthesis and the Ascension of Bipedalism as an Essential Hominid Synapomorphy (2012)
Gundling, Tom (Author)
History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences
Volume: 34
Pages: 185--210
Publication date: 2012
Language: English
Edition Details: Part of a special issue on the history, philosophy, and social studies of paleoanthropology.
Since its inception in the early- to middle-nineteenth century, human origins studies have been informed by a variety of disciplines beyond physical anthropology and archaeology, most notably geology and biology. This study examines dramatic changes within human origins research that occurred in the mid-twentieth century largely as a consequence of the dissemination of the neo-Darwinian synthesis from biology (sensu lato) into the new physical anthropology. This paradigm shift resulted in foregrounding evolution as a process affecting variable populations over exercises in typological classification. It led to the acknowledgement of bipedalism as the earliest hominid1 adaptation, preceding other important changes in morphology (e.g. increased encephalization quotient) and behavior (e.g. stone tool manufacture and use). An important corollary of the recognition of a bipedal ape phase in our ancestry was the decoupling of the grade category human from the phylogenetic term hominid.
...MoreDescription Examines human origins research in the mid-20th century as the neo-Darwinian synthesis from biology influenced physical anthropology.
Article Delisle, Richard G. (2012) Human Evolution: An Agenda for History, Philosophy, and Social Studies. History and Philosophy of the Life Sciences (p. 3).
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