1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910783352103321

Autore

Kimbel William H.

Titolo

The skull of Australopithecus afarensis / / William H. Kimbel, Yoel Rak, Donald C. Johnson ; with a contribution on the brain endocast by Ralph L. Holloway and Michael S. Yuan

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Oxford, [England] : , : Oxford University Press, , 2004

©2004

ISBN

0-19-028896-5

0-19-756197-7

1-280-50261-4

0-19-530353-9

0-19-803569-1

1-4337-0114-6

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (273 p.)

Collana

Human Evolution Series

Disciplina

599.9/48

Soggetti

Australopithecus afarensis. - lemac

Skull

Craniology

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Previously issued in print: 2004.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Contents; 1 Background; 2 Recovery and Reconstruction of A.L. 444-2; Recovery; Stratigraphic Provenance and Geological Age; Taphonomic Aspects and Reconstruction of the Skull; Ontogenetic Age and Sex of A.L. 444-2; 3 A.L. 444-2: The Skull as a Whole; The Cranium with the Occluded Mandible; The Cranium: Lateral and Median Views; The Cranium: Vertical View; The Cranium: Frontal View; The Cranium: Occipital View; The Cranium: Basal View; "Composite Reconstruction" of 1984/1988 in Light of A.L. 444-2; Pattern of Cranial Cresting; Pattern of the Venous Sinuses

4 Endocranial Morphology of A.L. 444-2Distortion of the Endocast; Assessment of Endocranial Volume; Morphological Description; Discussion; 5 Elements of the Disarticulated Skull; The Frontal Bone; The Parietal Bones; The Temporal Bones; The Occipital Bone; The Maxilla and the Palatine Bone; The Nasal Bones; The Zygomatic Bone;



The Mandible; Dentition; 6 Implications of A.L. 444-2 for the Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Status; Morphology of the A.L. 444-2 Skull: Summary of the Major Features; Taxonomic and Phylogenetic Status; Phylogenetic Position; Australopithecus afarensis in Human Evolution

NotesReferences; Index; A; B; C; D; E; F; G; H; I; K; L; M; N; O; P; R; S; T; V; W; Z

Sommario/riassunto

This is an in-depth account of the fossil skull anatomy and evolutionary significance of the 3.6-3.0 million year old early human species Australopithecus afarensis. Knowledge of this species is pivotal to understanding early human evolution, because 1) the sample of fossil remains of A. afarensis is among the most extensive for any early human species, and the majority of remains are of taxonomically informative skulls and teeth; 2) the wealth of material makes A. afarensis an indispensable point of reference for the interpretation of other fossil discoveries; 3) the species occupies a time period that is the focus of current research to determine when, where, and why the human lineage first diversified into separate contemporaneous lines of descent.