The Skull of Australopithecus Afarensis
The book is the most 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 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 inormative skulls and teeth; the wealth of material makes A. afarensis an indispensable point of reference for the interpretation of other fossil discoveries; and 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.
Bios
William H. Kimbel has conducted research on Australopithecus and early Homo in Africa, Neandertals in the Middle East, and the evolution of hominin skull form and function. Kimbel is director of the Institute of Human Origins, and Virginia M Ullman Professor of Natural History and the Environment in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change.
Donald C. Johanson is a renowned paleoanthropologist, founding director of the Institute of Human Origins, and Virginia M. Ullman Chair in Human Origins in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. He discovered the fossil skeleton popularly known as “Lucy” and has written nine books and numerous scientific and popular articles. He lectures in the U.S. and abroad.
Praise for this book
The illustrations are a fitting complement to the scholarship. The photographs are uniformly excellent, as are the line drawings. Illustrations are used imaginatively and effectively; the figure that depicts the hypothetical morphocline in glenoid morphology really is an example of a good picture being worth a thousand words. I can only imagine how much work went into this volume. We should be grateful that the authors were willing to make the effort.
Journal of Anthropological Research
