|
|
Article: Hominoid lineages and keystone clues. (using nasal bone outlines to classify hominoid groups)
- Article from:
- Science News
- Article date:
- August 1, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1987 Science Service, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Hominoid lineages and keystone clues
When attempting to distinguish betweenearly members of the human line and their now-extinct relatives known as the robust australopithecines, does the nose know?
In 1985, Todd R. Olson of the CityUniversity of New York Medical School answered in the affirmative. Connecting the nasal bones, he reported, was a keystone-shaped pattern of sutures that characterizes only robust australopithecines, also known as Paranthropus, as well two other distinct suture patterns marking modern apes and humans. He used these patterns to label the more than 3-million-year-old skull of a child found at Hadar, Ethiopia, as a member of the ...