The Human Lineage

Matt Cartmill is Professor of Anthropology at Boston University and Professor Emeritus of Evolutionary Anthropology at Duke University. Dr Cartmill is a Guggenheim and AAAS Fellow, a former president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and recipient of their Charles Darwin Lifetime Achievement Award, a founding co-editor of the International Journal of Primatology, and the former editor-in-chief of the American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
 
Fred H. Smith is University Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Illinois State University and Adjunct Professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder. A past president of the American Association of Physical Anthropologists and an AAAS and Alexander von Humboldt Fellow, he has received awards for his work from the U.S., Ireland, Germany and Croatia. Dr. Smith has conducted research in Europe, West Asia, and Africa, and has taught internationally at the Universities of Hamburg, Tübingen and Zagreb.

The newly revised and thoroughly updated standard source for mastering the human fossil record.
 
This new edition of The Human Lineage is the best and most current guide to the morphological, geological, paleontological, and archeological evidence for the story of human evolution. This comprehensive textbook presents the history, methods, and issues of paleoanthropology through detailed analyses of the major fossils of interest to practicing scientists in the field. It will help both advanced students and practicing professionals to become involved with the lively scholarly debates that mark the field of human-origins research. Its clear and engaging chapters contain concise explanatory text and hundreds of high-quality illustrations. This thoroughly revised second edition reflects the most recent fossil discoveries and scientific analyses, offering new sections on the locomotor adaptations of Miocene hominoids, the taxonomic distinctiveness of Homo heidelbergensis, the Burtele foot, Ardipithecus, and Neandertal genomics. Updated and expanded chapters offer fresh insights on topics such as the origins of bipedality and the anatomy and evolution of early mammals and primates. Written and illustrated by established leaders in the field, The Human Lineage:
* Provides the background needed to study human evolution, including dating techniques, mechanics of evolution, and primate adaptations
* Covers the major stages in human evolution with emphasis on important fossils and their implications
* Offers a balanced critical assessment of conflicting ideas about key events in human evolution
* Includes an extensive bibliography and appendices on biological nomenclature and craniometrics
 
Covering the entire story of human evolution from its Precambrian beginnings to the emergence of modern humanity, The Human Lineage is indispensable reading for all advanced students of biological anthropology.

Foreword xi
 
Preface to the First Edition xiii
 
Preface to the Second Edition xvi
 
Some Notes on Nomenclature xix
 
About the Companion Website xxi
 
1 The Fossil Record 1
 
1.1 The Discovery of the Deep Past 1
 
Changing Ideas About the Changing Earth 1
 
Neptune vs. Vulcan 2
 
A Brief Guide to Sedimentology 3
 
Dating the Rocks 4
 
The Succession of Faunas 5
 
Radiation-Based Dating Techniques 7
 
Other Dating Techniques 9
 
Dating Based on the Cycles of the Earth 9
 
The Problem of Orogeny 11
 
Continental Drift 11
 
1.2 A Brief History of Life 12
 
Life: The First Three Billion Years 12
 
Multicellular Life 14
 
The Cambrian Revolution 15
 
Jaws, Fins, and Feet 16
 
The Reptilian Revolutions 18
 
The Two Great Extinctions 20
 
The Mammals Take Over 21
 
2 Analyzing Evolution 23
 
2.1 Darwin and Evolution 23
 
Parsimony and Pigeons 23
 
Darwin's Theory 24
 
Improving on Darwin 27
 
2.2 The Origin of Species 30
 
What, if Anything, is a Species? 30
 
The Speciation Process 31
 
The Tempo of Speciation 32
 
Semispecies, Hybrids, and Isolating Mechanisms 33
 
2.3 Species Concepts and Classification 35
 
Races, Semispecies, and Taxonomy 35
 
Other Species Concepts 37
 
Morphospecies and Chronospecies 39
 
2.4 Microevolution and Macroevolution 40
 
Is Evolution Smooth or Jerky? 40
 
The Neo-Darwinian Synthesis 41
 
The Politics of Macroevolution 42
 
2.5 Reconstructing the Tree of Life 42
 
Phylogenetic Inference 42
 
Sources of Error in Phylogenetics 44
 
2.6 Taxonomy and Classification 47
 
Linnaean Systematics 47
 
Evolutionary Systematics 47
 
Phenetics and Cladistics 49
 
Pros and Cons of Phylogenetic Systematics 49
 
3 People as Primates 51
 
3.1 Primates as Mammals 51
 
The First Mammals 51
 
Allometry 57
 
Allometry and Early Mammals 58
 
Death and Molar Occlusion 59
 
Allometry, Motherhood, and Milk 60
 
Respiration and the Palate 60
 
The Tribosphenic Molar 62
 
Live Birth and Placentation 64
 
Jurassic and Cretaceous Mammals 65
 
3.2 The Order Primates 66
 
What is a Primate? 66
 
The Living Strepsirrhines 73
 
Anthropoid Apomorphies: Ears, Eyes, and Noses 74
 
Tarsiers 76
 
Platyrrhines: The New World Anthropoids 77
 
Cercopithecoids: The Old World Monkeys 78
 
Hominoids: The Living Apes 79
 
Pongids and Hominids 81
 
Bonobos and Chimpanzees 84
 
Humans vs. Apes: Skulls and Teeth 85
 
3.3 The Primate Fossil Record 88
 
Primate Origins: The Crown Group 88
 
Fossil Primates: The Stem Group 90
 
Ancestral Traits and Genetic Evidence 91
 
The First Euprimates 92
 
Eocene "Lemurs" and "Tarsiers" 94
 
The First Anthropoids 96
 
Anthropoid Radiations 98
 
Miocene Catarrhines 99
 
Ape Origins 103
 
Cercopithecoids 107
 
4 The Bipedal Ape 109
 
4.1 The Discovery of Australopithecus 109
 
Being Human vs. Becoming Human 109
 
The Taung Child 109
 
Australopithecus Grows Up 111
 
4.2 The Anatomy of Bipedality 115
 
Upright Posture and the Vertebral Column 115
 
Bipedality and the Pelvis 116
 
Bipedal Locomotion: Knees 118