Stephen Jay Gould, the prominent evolutionary biologist and science historian, argued that “unconscious manipulation of data may be a scientific norm” because “scientists are human beings rooted in cultural contexts, not automatons directed toward external truth” [1], a view now popular in social studies of science [2]–[4]. In support of his argument Gould presented the case of Samuel George Morton, a 19th-century physician and physical anthropologist famous for his measurements of human skulls. Morton was considered the objectivist of his era, but Gould reanalyzed Morton's data and in his prize-winning book The Mismeasure of Man [5] argued that Morton skewed his data to fit his preconceptions about human variation. Morton is now viewed as a canonical example of scientific misconduct. But did Morton really fudge his data? Are studies of human variation inevitably biased, as per Gould, or are objective accounts attainable, as Morton attempted? We investigated these questions by remeasuring Morton's skulls and reexamining both Morton's and Gould's analyses. Our results resolve this historical controversy, demonstrating that Morton did not manipulate data to support his preconceptions, contra Gould. In fact, the Morton case provides an example of how the scientific method can shield results from cultural biases.

Cribra orbitalia, a porous lesion involving the orbital roofs, is one of the most-studied skeletal pathologies in bioarchaeology, and yet uncertainty still exists regarding its aetiology and significance. In contrast to the hundreds of reports of cribra orbitalia in human skeletal remains, little is known of this condition in non-human primates. Previously, cribra orbitalia has only been reported in catarrhines, with just two cases in cercopithecoids. To provide a broader, phylogenetic perspective on cribra orbitalia, a sample of primate skeletal material was examined to evaluate the occurrence of this condition. The taxonomically diverse sample consists of 380 non-hominoid (non-ape) modern primates from both wild and captive populations. Cribra orbitalia is present in 16 individuals, including cercopithecines, colobines, platyrrhines and a prosimian, substantially expanding the known taxonomic range of this condition. Modern primates-with their varied habitats, diets, levels of parasitism, etc.-provide a set of natural experiments regarding conditions and physiologies which may influence the aetiology and impact of cribra orbitalia. More generally, it is suggested here that studies of non-human primate skeletal pathologies have the potential for providing significant insight on human paleopathologies. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Previous research in the Republic of Djibouti resulted in two notable Paleolithic findings: the Oldowan elephant butchery site of Barogali, excavated by J. Chavaillon and A. Berthelet, and a Homo erectus/sapiens maxilla described by L. de Bonis et al. These discoveries were made in the 1980s, and no paleoanthropological surveys have been conducted in Djibouti in the following decades. In 2007, the Mission archeologique et paleontologique Afar Djibouti (MAPAD) carried out a new survey of the Gobaad Basin and discovered several new archaeological and paleontological sites attributed to the Lower Paleolithic. Three sites in particular contain rich concentrations of lithic artifacts on the surface that, based on field examination, can be attributed to the Oldowan. Of these, the site of Chekheyti Issie 3 (CKI-3) is the largest, comprising a surface of well over too In 2 of abundant Oldowan lithics in spatial association with fossil hippopotamus remains. The presence of lithic refits, identified in an ad hoc fashion in the field, suggests that the site was minimally disturbed. Further excavation and analysis of CKI-3 should provide insight into carcass acquisition and processing by early hominids. More generally, the newly discovered sites in the Gobaad Basin will allow for the testing of a range of hypotheses regarding both local and regional variation in hominid technology, behavior, and subsistence strategies in the Lower Pleistocene. To cite this article: S. Harmand et al., C R. Palevol 8 (2009). (C) 2009 Academie des sciences. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Sediments containing Ardipithecus ramidus were deposited 4.4 million years ago on an alluvial floodplain in Ethiopia’s western Afar rift. The Lower Aramis Member hominid-bearing unit, now exposed across a >9-kilometer structural arc, is sandwiched between two volcanic tuffs that have nearly identical 40Ar/39Ar ages. Geological data presented here, along with floral, invertebrate, and vertebrate paleontological and taphonomic evidence associated with the hominids, suggest that they occupied a wooded biotope over the western three-fourths of the paleotransect. Phytoliths and oxygen and carbon stable isotopes of pedogenic carbonates provide evidence of humid cool woodlands with a grassy substrate.

The Lemudong’o Formation in the Narok District of Kenya comprises a 135-m-thick series of predominantly lacustrine and lake basin margin sedimentary rocks with interstratified primary and reworked tuffs. The formation, deposited ,6 Ma, records deposition within the second of three sequential lake basins created by tectonic and volcanic activity on the western margin of the southern Rift Valley of Kenya. These sedimentary paleobasins are exposed in the vicinity of the confluence of three rivers cutting steep cliffs into rugged, vegetated terrain. Over 1200 fossils of terrestrial vertebrates have been recovered from the site of Lemudong’o Locality 1 (LEM 1), which was formed at the edge of a shallow lake fed by slow-moving streams. Much like smaller Rift Valley lake basins in Kenya today, the Lemudong’o lake margin probably supported a mosaic of habitats ranging from closed riparian woodland to grassland and swamps. There are two fossiliferous horizons at LEM 1, clayey sands and gravels and overlying mudstones. Although the mudstones yielded the majority of the fossil material, there are significant faunal differences between the two horizons. The mudstone assemblage consists of taxa whose modern representatives primarily prefer relatively closed environments such as riparian forests, as well as many species that prefer open woodland to wooded grasslands. The sandstone assemblage samples fauna from a wider range of habitats. This contrast in taxonomic composition suggests that the mudstone and sandstone horizons sample a lakeshore environment that was varying through time. The apparent shift in habitat preferences of the fauna is consistent with the geological and geomorphological evidence for a mosaic of closed to open habitats that characterize rapidly variable rift-valley lake basins in mesic climatic regimes. One of the salient characteristics of these assemblages is the complete absence of fish, and the paucity of large mammals and reptiles, such as hippos, crocodiles, and larger bovid species that would be expected at the edge of lake basins fed by large rivers. Modern central rift-valley lake basins that are fed by small streams vary widely in size and salinity in response to climate change, and occasionally dry out completely. They do not contain fish and crocodiles, and only one has a substantial hippo population. These modern rift-valley lakes may therefore provide an analog to the depositional environment of Lemudong’o. The LEM 1 fossil assemblage is also unusual because it is dominated by small mammalian taxa, including numerous rodents, small colobine monkeys, hyracoids, and a diversity of viverrid and other carnivores. Given the lack of evidence for fluvial transport in the main fossil horizon, the biased size composition, and the significant carnivore damage on the bones, we interpret this site to represent an accumulation of carcasses by several avian and small mammalian carnivores. This paleoecological and paleogeographic reconstruction is discussed relative to penecontemporaneous fossil sites in Africa.

Kirtlandia, a publication of The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, is named in honor of Jared Potter Kirtland, a noted nineteenth-century naturalist who lived in the Cleveland, Ohio area. It began publication in 1967 and is a continuation of the earlier series Scientific Publications volumes 1 to 10 (1928–1950), and new series volumes 1 to 4 (1962–1965).

Various "ecomorphological" methods exist for using the functional morphology of bovid postcranial remains to reconstruct paleohabitats. Most such methods use measurements, but both Gentry [The Bovidae (Mammalia) of the Fort Ternan fossil fauna, in: L.S.B. Leakey, R.J.G. Savage (Eds.), Fossil Vertebrates of Africa, vol. 2, Academic Press, London, 1970, pp. 243-323] and Kohler [Skeleton and Habitat of Recent and Fossil Ruminants, Munchner Geowissenschaftliche Abdhandlungen 25 (1993) 1-88] have identified numerous discrete (non-metric) traits of the bovid postcranial skeleton that are said to be indicative of habitat preference. However, these traits have not been systematically tested on a modern bovid sample. We report here such a test. Eighty-six non-metric characters were evaluated using a sample of modern African bovids (n = 197). Of the 86 characters, 48 were either insufficiently defined or exhibited too much intra-individual variation to be potentially indicative of habitat. Two characters were invariant in the sample. Of the remaining 36 characters, 11 were sufficiently correlated with habitat preference (Cramer's V > 0.5) to be of some potential use in reconstructing paleohabitats. These characters are primarily concentrated on the phalanges, and provide a means by which fragmentary phalanges can be used for habitat reconstruction, albeit at a broad level of resolution (open or closed habitat). The estimated accuracy of these methods is greater than 80%. Their use on fragmentary remains may lessen the bias introduced by basing habitat reconstructions on more complete fossils. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The functional morphology of bovid postcranial fossils can be used to infer paleoenvironments, an approach often labeled ‘ecomorphology’. Such techniques have some advantages over taxon-based methods of inferring paleoenvironments (e.g. they do not assume stasis in a lineage's habitat preference over evolutionary time). Current methods for predicting habitat preference from bovid postcrania are restricted to femora and metapodials, whose preservation is often limited. We describe here a method for predicting paleohabitats using measurements of bovid astragali. The astragalus method correctly predicted the habitat preference for 146 of 218 modern bovid specimens (67%, 2.7 times better than chance; p<0.0001). This accuracy compares well with that of femur and metapodial methods (1.8–3.4 times better than chance). In addition, analysis of the probabilities associated with the habitat predictions allows a confidence threshold to be established that identifies specific predictions which have <5% chance of being in error. This raises the effective accuracy of the method to 95%. Extensive exploration and manipulation of the underlying data demonstrate that the habitat predictions are generally robust, and are relatively independent of body weight, taxonomy, and sample composition. The accuracy of this method and its broad applicability make it a useful addition to the existing array of techniques for inferring past environments.

Previous articleNext article No AccessCA FORUM ON THEORY IN ANTHROPOLOGYPlio‐Pleistocene Hominid Limb Proportions Evolutionary Reversals or Estimation Errors?1by PhilipL.Reno, DavidDeGusta, MariaA.Serrat, RichardS.Meindl, TimD.White, RobertB.Eckhardt, AdamJ.Kuperavage, KarolGalik, and C.OwenLovejoyby PhilipL.Reno, DavidDeGusta, MariaA.Serrat, RichardS.Meindl, TimD.White, RobertB.Eckhardt, AdamJ.Kuperavage, KarolGalik, and C.OwenLovejoyPDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 46, Number 4August/October 2005 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/431528 Views: 133Total views on this site Citations: 42Citations are reported from Crossref HistoryReceived 00 i 00Accepted 00 i 00 2005 by The WennerGren Foundation for Anthropological Research. 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The Middle Awash paleontological study area, located in the Afar Rift of Ethiopia, has yielded fossils spanning the last six million years. The geology and geochronology of the Mio-Pliocene sites of the study area have been refined and a reliable chronostratizalraphy has been established by Ar-40/Ar-39 radiometric dating. The latest Miocene Adu-Asa Formation is divided into four members distinguished from each other by silicic and basaltic tuff marker horizons, most of which are dated basaltic tuffs. Radiometric dating has constrained the age of the Adu-Asa Formation to between 5.2-5.8 Ma. These dates are also supported by paleomagnetic results and biochronology. More than 2,000 fossil specimens were collected from the Adu-Asa Formation between 1992 and 2000. These fossils document 64 mammalian species belonging to 32 genera, 23 families, and 8 orders. This assemblage includes a number of new taxa. Included in the assemblage are First and Last Appearance Datums (FADs and LADs) of some groups, including the earliest record of the hominid genus Ardipithecus. Most of the taxa indicate a predominance of mesic and wooded habitat during the deposition of the Adu-Asa Formation. In these deposits, colobines, viverrids, mustelids, bovines, boselaphines, and tragelaphines are abundant, whereas alcelaphines are absent. Quantitative analyses of biogeographic relationships of the Middle Awash Late Miocene (MALM) mammalian fauna indicate stronger relationships with other African sites than with faunas from Eurasian sites. The MALM deposits have generated a critical dataset for analytic work on past environments, biogeographic relationships, and African vertebrate evolution. Moreover, the geographic position of the Middle Awash, coupled with its precise calibration and chronological span, make it a key section for interpreting latest Miocene faunal interchanges between Africa and Eurasia. (C) 2004 Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved.

The method of character importance ranking (CIR) is proposed here as a means for estimating the relative "importance" of characters in cladistic analyses, especially those based on morphological features. CIR uses the weighting variable to incrementally remove one character at a time from the analysis, and then evaluates the impact of the removal on the shape of the cladogram. The greater the impact, the more important the character. The CIR method for determining which characters drive the shape of a particular cladogram has several applications. It identifies the characters with the strongest (though not necessarily most accurate) signal in a cladistic analysis; it permits the informed prioritization of characters for further investigation via genetic, developmental, and functional approaches; and it highlights characters whose definition, scoring, independence, and variation should be reviewed with particular care. The application of CIR reveals that at least some cladograms depend entirely on a single character.