Table Of ContentFunction, Phylogeny,
and Fossils
Miocene Hominoid Evolution
and Adaptations
ADVANCES IN PRIMAT OL OGY
Series Editors:
JOHN G. FLEAGLE
State University of New York at Stony Brook
Stony Brook, New York
R. D. E. MAcPHEE
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York
Editorial Board:
JOHN M. ALLMAN, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
RUSSELL L. CIOCHON, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
FRAN<;;OISEJOUFFROY, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France
W. PATRICK LUCKETT, University of Puerto Rico, Sanjuan, Puerto Rico
LAWRENCE B. MARTIN, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony
Brook, New York
CAREL P. VAN SCHAlK, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
Current Volumes in the Series:
ANTHROPOID ORIGINS
Edited by John G. Fleagle and Richard F. Kay
COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONARY
RELATIONSHIPS OF TREE SHREWS
Edited by W. Patrick Luckett
EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY OF THE NEW WORLD MONKEYS AND
CONTINENTAL DRIFT
Edited by Russell L. Ciochon and A. Brunetto Chiarelli
FUNCTION, PHYLOGENY, AND FOSSILS: Miocene Hominoid
Evolution and Adaptations
Edited by David R. Begun, Carol V. Ward, and Michael D. Rose
NEW INTERPRETATIONS OF APE AND HUMAN ANCESTRY
Edited by Russell L. Ciochon and Robert S. Corroccini
NURSERY CARE OF NONHUMAN PRIMATES
Edited by Gerald C. Ruppenthal
PRIMATES AND THEIR RELATIVES IN PHYLOGENETIC
PERSPECTIVE
Edited by Ross D. E. MacPhee
SIZE AND SCALING IN PRIMATE BIOLOGY
Edited by William L. Jungers
SPECIES, SPECIES CONCEPTS, AND PRIMATE EVOLUTION
Edited by William H. Kimbel and Lawrence B. Martin
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Function, Phylogeny,
and Fossils
Miocene Hominoid Evolution
and Adaptations
Edited by
DAVID R. BEGUN
University of Toronto
Toronto, Canada
CAROL V. WARD
University of Missouri
Columbia, Missouri
and
MICHAEL D. ROSE
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New jersey
New Jersey Medical School
Newark, New jersey
Springer Science+Business Media, LLC
Llbrary of Congress Cataloglng-ln-Publlcatlon Data
Function, phylogeny, and fossils miocene hominoid evolution and
adaptations / edited by David R. Begun, Carol V. Ward, and Michael
D. Rose.
p. cm. -- (Advances in primatology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4899-0077-7 ISBN 978-1-4899-0075-3 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-0075-3
1. Fossi 1 hominids. 2. ::u"'o pvolution. 3. Paleontology
-Miocene. I. Begun, David R. II. Ward, Caroi V. III. Rnse.
Michael D. IV. Series, Advances in primatology (Plenum Press)
GN282F85 1997
599.93·8--dc21 96-40485
CIP
ISBN 978-1-4899-0077-7
© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Origina11y published by Plenum Press, New York in 1997
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1997
http://www.plenum.com
10987654321
AII rights reserved
No part ofthis book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
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permission from the Publisher
Contributors
Peter Andrews jay Kelley
Natural History Museum Department of Oral Biology
London SW7 5BD, England College of Dentistry
University of Illinois at Chicago
David R. Begun Chicago, Illinois 60612
Department of Anthropology
University of Toronto Laszlo Kardos
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada The Hungarian Geological Museum
H-1143 Budapest, Hungary
Brenda R. Benefit
Department of Anthropology George Koufos
Southern Illinois University Laboratory of Geology
Carbondale, Illinois 62901 University of Thessaloniki
540 06 Thessaloniki, Greece
Louis de Bonis
Laboratoire de Gebiologie, Meave Leakey
Biochronologie, Paleontologie Division of Palaeontology
Humaine National Museums of Kenya
86022 Poitiers Cedex, France Nairobi, Kenya
Barbara Brown Monte L. McCrossin
Department of Anatomy Department of Anthropology
Northeastern Ohio University College Southern Illinois University
of Medicine Carbondale, Illinois 62901
Rootstown, Ohio 44272-0095
David Pi/beam
Terry Harrison Peabody Museum
Department of Anthropology Harvard University
New York University Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
New York, New York 10003
Todd C. Rae
Richard F. Kay Department of Mammalogy
Department of Biological American Museum of Natural History
Anthropology and Anatomy New York, New York I 0024-5192
Duke University Medical Center Present address:
Durham, North Carolina 27710 Department of Anthropology
University of Durham
Durham DHI 3HN, England
v
vi CONTRIBUTORS
Lorenzo Rook Alan Walker
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra Departments of Anthropology and
Universita di Firenze Biology
Florence, Italy The Pennsylvania State University
University Park, Pennsylvania 16802
Michael D. Rose
Department of Anatomy, Cell Biology, Carol V. Ward
and Injury Science Anthropology and Pathology &
University of Medicine and Dentistry Anatomical Sciences
of New Jersey University of Missouri
New Jersey Medical School Columbia, Missouri 65211
Newark, New Jersey 07103
Steve Ward
jeffrey H. Schwartz Department of Anatomy
Department of Anthropology Northeastern Ohio Universities
University of Pittsburgh College of Medicine
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260 Rootstown, Ohio 44272
PeterS. Ungar Myriam Zylstra
Department of Anthropology Department of Anthropology
University of Arkansas University of Toronto
Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701 Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G3, Canada
Preface
In 1993, two of the editors of this volume (Ward and Begun) organized a
symposium for the Toronto meeting of the American Association of Physical
Anthropology. The idea behind the symposium was to gather researchers
with long-term expertise in particular aspects of Miocene hominoid paleobiol
ogy for a comparison of different perspectives. We were specifically interested
in the issue of the interdigitation of functional and phylogenetic analysis in
paleobiology. We were also interested in the differing interpretations that
result from a focus on a certain taxon versus a particular region of the body.
Our own experience with Miocene hominoids and with those who study them
suggested this subject area as a useful case study.
The main result of the symposium was that there is much more to discuss.
The consensus of the participants was that there is a great deal of value in
attempting to compare and integrate differing approaches to Miocene homi
noid paleobiology. It was also generally agreed that there was a need to review
the Miocene again, given the tremendous number of discoveries and new
interpretations that have come to light since the publication in 1983 of the
highly influential book in this same series, New Interpretations of Ape and Human
Ancestry, edited by R. L. Ciochon and R. S. Corruccini. We decided to combine
forces with Mike Rose, an alumnus of New Intrepetations, to edit a volume that
would serve two main purposes. The first was to expand on the theme of the
symposium, to explore different perspectives on Miocene hominoids in the
hope of reaching a consensus, not so much on what happened, but on how to
proceed with the analysis of this complex period in hominoid evolutionary
history. The second was to update, in a substantially different format, the
Miocene hominoid portions of the venerable Ciochon and Corruccini volume.
Whereas they chose to cover a wide array of topics in ape and human evolution
ary history and systematics, we decided to focus on a few well-known genera of
Miocene hominoids. We felt that these genera were the best candidates for a
case study approach, being represented by more fossils from a greater diversity
of anatomical regions than most, and thus providing researchers with the best
opportunity to cover a range of issues related to both function and phylogeny.
Vll
...
Vlll PREFACE
The chapters in this volume were reviewed by at least three referees, in
most cases experts who were not themselves contributors. We are very grateful
to these referees, who will remain anonymous, for helping us to produce a
volume of high quality. We are also grateful to the Advances in Primatology
Series Editors, John Fleagle and Ross MacPhee, for their support and encour
agement, and to Mary Phillips Born, Senior Editor at Plenum, for her guid
ance and patience.
In the past 15 years there has been a revolution in discovery, analytical
techniques, and interpretation in Miocene hominoid paleobiology. A perusal
of the literature in this field may lead one to conclude that there is little
agreement among researchers and that things are getting worse with each
new find. The editors of this book were enthusiastic about bringing together
Miocene hominoid scholars because we were confident that there is more
agreement than is at first apparent. We do in fact know much more today
about the Miocene than we did 15 years ago. Consensus is emerging on the
relationships between early and late Miocene hominoids; on the first appear
ance of great apes in the fossil record; on the relationship between Asian and
African great apes and humans; and on the spectacular functional and tax
onomic diversity of the Miocene hominoid fossil record as a whole. While
there is much more work to be done, we think that this volume contributes to
a greater understanding of this diversity. We hope that the chapters it contains
will stimulate further discussions and interactions, not only among morpholo
gists, but also between us and behavioral and molecular biologists, ecologists,
geologists, and everyone else interested in the origins of adaptations in the
Hominoidea.
David Begun
Carol Ward
Mike Rose
Toronto, Canada
Columbus, Missouri
Newark, New jersey
Contents
1
Function and Phylogeny in Miocene Hominoids
Carol V. Ward, David R. Begun, and Michael D. Rose
Introduction 1 Function and Phylogeny 3 Parallelism and
Convergence 5 Content of This Volume 6 Goals of This
Volume 10 References 10
2
Research on Miocene Hominoids and Hominid Origins:
The Last Three Decades 13
David Pilbeam
Introduction 13 Two Decades of Progress 14 Cranio-Dental
Remains 16 Postcranial Remains 17 Fossil Hominoid Relationships:
Current Views 19 Sivapithecus and Oreopithecus 21 Alternative
Interpretations 22 Hominid Origins 23 References 25
3
Interrelationships between Functional Morphology and Paleoenvironments
in Miocene H ominoids 29
Peter Andrews, David R. Begun, and Myriam Zylstra
Introduction 29 Songhor and Koru, Kenya 30 Rusinga Island,
Kenya 36 Kalodirr, Kenya, and Moroto, Uganda 37 Maboko Island
and Fort Ternan, Kenya 38 Pa~alar, Turkey 40 Rudabanya,
Hungary 42 Can Llobateres and Can Ponsic, Spain 44 Siwaliks,
Pakistan 45 Ravin de Ia Pluie and Xirochori, Greece 4 7
Baccinello, Italy 48 Lufeng, China 49 Discussion 50
References 53
ix
