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Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds

  • Conference proceedings
  • © 2006

Overview

Editors:
  1. Hidemi Ishida

    1. University of Shiga Prefecture, Shiga, Japan

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  2. Russell Tuttle

    1. University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

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  3. Martin Pickford

    1. Collège de France, Paris, France

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  4. Naomichi Ogihara

    1. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

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  5. Masato Nakatsukasa

    1. Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

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  • Unique title presents interdisciplinary papers relating to hominid and hominoid development
  • Important synthesis of paleontology and primatology
  • Up-to-date research valuable for both researchers and students
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospects (DIPR)

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Table of contents (20 papers)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-ix
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Hidemi Ishida: 40 Years of Footprints in Japanese Primatology and Paleoanthropology

    1. Hidemi Ishida: 40 Years of Footprints in Japanese Primatology and Paleoanthropology

      • Masato Nakatsukasa, Yoshihiko Nakano, Yutaka Kunimatsu, Naomichi Ogihara, Russell H. Tuttle
      Pages 1-14

  3. Fossil Hominoids and Paleoenvironments

    1. Seven Decades of East African Miocene Anthropoid Studies

      • Russell H. Tuttle
      Pages 15-29

    2. Evolution of the Vertebral Column in Miocene Hominoids and Plio-Pleistocene Hominids

      • Dominique Gommery
      Pages 31-43

    3. Terrestriality in a Middle Miocene Context: Victoriapithecus from Maboko, Kenya

      • Kathleen T. Blue, Monte L. McCrossin, Brenda R. Benefit
      Pages 45-58

    4. Late Cenozoic Mammalian Biostratigraphy And Faunal Change

      • Hideo Nakaya, Hiroshi Tsujikawa
      Pages 59-70

    5. The Ages and Geological Backgrounds of Miocene Hominoids Nacholapithecus, Samburupithecus, and Orrorin from Kenya

      • Yoshihiro Sawada, Mototaka Saneyoshi, Katsuhiro Nakayama, Tetsuya Sakai, Tetsumaru Itaya, Masayuki Hyodo et al.
      Pages 71-96

  4. Functional Morphology

    1. Patterns of Vertical Climbing in Primates

      • Yoshihiko Nakano, Eishi Hirasaki, Hiroo Kumakura
      Pages 97-104

    2. Functional Morphology of the Midcarpal Joint in Knuckle-Walkers and Terrestrial Quadrupeds

      • Brian G. Richmond
      Pages 105-122

    3. Morphological Adaptation of Rat Femora to Different Mechanical Environments

      • Akiyoshi Matsumura, Morihiko Okada, Yutaka Takahashi
      Pages 123-133

    4. A Hallmark of Humankind: The Gluteus Maximus Muscle

      • Françoise K. Jouffroy, Monique F. Médina
      Pages 135-148

    5. Primates Trained for Bipedal Locomotion as a Model for Studying the Evolution of Bipedal Locomotion

      • Eishi Hirasaki, Naomichi Ogihara, Masato Nakatsukasa
      Pages 149-155

    6. Locomotor Energetics in Nonhuman Primates

      • Masato Nakatsukasa, Eishi Hirasaki, Naomichi Ogihara
      Pages 157-166

    7. Computer Simulation of Bipedal Locomotion

      • Naomichi Ogihara, Nobutoshi Yamazaki
      Pages 167-174
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Keywords

About this book

Advances in fossil studies relating to the origin of Homo sapiens have strengthened the hypothesis that our direct ancestors originated on the African continent. Most researchers also agree that the time when prehumans diverged from the last common ancestor was in the early part of the Late Miocene epoch.

Focus must now shift from determining the times and places of hominid origins to clarifying hominid evolutionary problems, such as the selective factors and acquisition processes of hominid bipedalism. In March of 2003, researchers from Africa, Europe, Japan and the United States convened in Kyoto for a symposium on Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds, an interdisciplinary effort to consider these evolutionary puzzles, to report current research and to exchange thoughts towards better understanding the relationship among environmental changes, adaptive mechanisms and human origins. This book is the result of that symposium, and includes a diverse and unique set of papers on topics such as hominid evolution, dispersal and morphology, and the origins of bipedalism.

Reviews

From the reviews:

"The book has 3 broad themes: fossil hominoids and paleoenvironments; functional morphology, and theoretical approaches … . it is an excellent all-round book for researchers and graduate students that clearly identifies the future challenges in our understanding of human evolution. … key papers in the volume make a considerable contribution towards a better understanding of the relationship among environmental changes, adaptive mechanisms and human origins, and for this reason readers interested in the topic will find new perspectives and new directions in its pages." (Susannah K. S. Thorpe, Folia Primatologica, Vol. 78 (4), 2007)

"Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds is a compendium text for any advanced student of human origins and evolution. … I envision a beginning graduate student benefiting from the wide array of topics covered, and delving further into the cited literature. … For those who have an interest in the rise and functional morphology of bipedal locomotion and its environmental contexts, Human Origins and Environmental Backgrounds is well worth the read." (Rhonda L. Quinn, Journal of Mammal evolution, Vol. 16, 2009)

Editors and Affiliations

  • University of Shiga Prefecture, Shiga, Japan

    Hidemi Ishida

  • University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    Russell Tuttle

  • Collège de France, Paris, France

    Martin Pickford

  • Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan

    Naomichi Ogihara, Masato Nakatsukasa

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