Abstract
LEAKEY has provided another very useful progress report on fossil hominid recovery from East Rudolf1. Some interesting points emerge from this and a previous report2; one is the influence that taxonomic nomenclature can exert on ideas of hominid affinities. His preliminary conclusions suggest that the classification of early hominids based on the South African sample needs revision in the light of the East Rudolf finds1,3. In particular he argues that the East Rudolf specimens provide no support for more than one species of australopithecine. Here I suggest that, on the contrary, his interpretation of the East Rudolf material and mine of the South African finds are in remarkably close agreement; the difference between them is more apparent than real and stems from nomenclatural rather than biological considerations.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Leakey, R. E. F., Nature, 237, 264 (1972).
Leakey, R. E. F., Nature, 231, 241 (1971).
Anonymous, Nature, 237, 250 (1972).
Robinson, J. T., Amer. J. Phys. Anthrop., 12, 181 (1954).
Robinson, J. T., Afr. J. Sci., 57, 3 (1961).
Robinson, J. T., African Ecology and Human Evolution (Aldine Press, Chicago, 1963).
Robinson, J. T., Early Hominid Posture and Locomotion (University of Chicago Press, 1972).
Robinson, J. T., Nature, 205, 121 (1965).
Robinson, J. T., Evolutionary Biology (Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1967).
Robinson, J. T., The Dentition of the Australopithecinae (Transvaal Museum, Johannesburg, 1956).
Tobias, P. V., Olduvai Gorge, 2 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1967).
Robinson, J. T., Proc. Eighth Int. Contr. of Anthrop. and Ethn. Sci. (1969).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
ROBINSON, J. The Bearing of East Rudolf Fossils on Early Hominid Systematics. Nature 240, 239–240 (1972). https://doi.org/10.1038/240239a0
Received:
Revised:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/240239a0
This article is cited by
-
Australopithecines: Ancestors of the African Apes?
Human Evolution (1994)
-
Origin and evolution of the genus Homo
Nature (1992)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.