Reconstructing Behavior in the Primate Fossil Record [book review]

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Robert Anemone, Professor and Department Head (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: How can we best understand the adaptive significance of morphological features of fossil primates and, based on this understanding, reconstruct the behavior of these organisms? This edited volume, based on a Leakey Foundation-sponsored conference held at Duke University, reviews different approaches to these problems and makes an important contribution to the literature of primate paleontology. The authors and the editors are to be commended for their rigorous attempts to define important terminology (e.g., homology, adaptation), for their comprehensive coverage of a large and complex literature, and finally, for presenting a coherent viewpoint on how best to approach the difficult task of reconstructing the behavior of extinct primates. The book is organized into an introductory chapter that sets the theoretical foundation for all that follows, nine case studies dealing with different primate taxa and different anatomical/behavioral systems, and a final summary chapter by the editors.

Additional Information

Publication
American Journal of Physical Anthropology, 120:305-306.
Language: English
Date: 2003
Keywords
book reviews, anthropology, primate fossil record, morphological features, paleoanthropology

Email this document to