Tag Archives: Homo erectus

Our paper: The evolution of early Homo

This past Spring I published a paper, together with Milford Wolpoff, on the early evolution of our genus, Homo. The paper had several inspirations, independent of my own research in this arena associated with my work at the Lower Paleolithic … Continue reading

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The Dmanisi mandibles

My latest paper examining metric variation in the Lower Paleolithic Dmanisi mandibular sample, co-authored with David Lordkipanidze, is available today via Paleoanthropology’s website (open access). Synopsis: The Dmanisi mandibular sample is a well-preserved, age-stratified set of remains, that poses interesting … Continue reading

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Seasonal signs

One issue that constantly intrigues me is the importance of seasonality in the evolution and early dispersal of Homo from Africa ~2 million years ago. Africa does not lack complex seasonality, particularly with respect to humidity and ecological resource availability, … Continue reading

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Skeletons in the (digital) closet

Every once in a while google scholar leads me to something intriguingly bizarre. Attempting to find literature on some mandibular anatomical minutia, I came across this 1924 paper from the Journal of Anatomy on “an abnormal skull from New Guinea.” … Continue reading

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Species longevity, variation and range size

There is an interesting article in this month’s edition of Evolution on trilobite diversity. The study, by Melanie Hopkins, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, looks at the relationship between intraspecific variation, species range, and longevity in the fossil … Continue reading

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