CORRELATED DENTO-FACIAL PROGRESSION AND THE ORIGIN OF MAN

The extreme variation in dento-facial morphology in Australopithecus opens the question of determining the first evidence of the Homo lineage. The most primitive species, Weinert's (1950) Meganthropus africanus and Australopithecus anamensis are morphologically most similar to Australopithecus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Anthropologie (Brno) 1996-01, Vol.34 (1/2), p.35-38
Main Authors: PUECH, PIERRE-FRANÇOIS, ALBERTINI, HENRI, TYRAND, HERVÉ
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Australopithecines
Australopithecus
Canines
Evolution
Homo habilis
Human paleontology
Jaw
Mankind origin and evolution
Methodology and general studies
Papers in honour of Professor Jan Jelínek's 70th anniversary PART I
Prehistory and protohistory
Skull
Teeth
Tooth enamel
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Summary:The extreme variation in dento-facial morphology in Australopithecus opens the question of determining the first evidence of the Homo lineage. The most primitive species, Weinert's (1950) Meganthropus africanus and Australopithecus anamensis are morphologically most similar to Australopithecus afarensis. However they are characterized by a primitive suite of dento-facial characters maintained in Homo but absent in A. afarensis. The premaxillary lengthening in A. afarensis and the high position of the anterior masseter origin in A. africanus A. robustus -A. boisei are derived positions. Homo therefore emerged close to Meganthropus africanus and A. anamensis, more than 4 Myr ago.
ISSN:0323-1119