The first humans : origin and early evolution of the genus Homo : contributions from the third Stony Brook Human Evolution Symposium and Workshop, October 3 - October 7, 2006

This volume addresses the origin of the human genus Homo, a major transition in human evolution and associated with major changes in brain size, locomotion, and culture, but one with many unanswered questions. How many different species of Homo were there, and how were they interrelated? Are stone tools a characteristic of early Homo? What was their function? How does the use of stone tools relate to changes in the dentition and brain size? Did adaptations for long distance running first appear with the origin of this genus? How does this relate to its diet and cultural abilities. Early Humans : Of Whom Do We Speak? / Richard E. Leakey -- Homo Habilis - A Premature Discovery : Remembered By One Of Its Founding Fathers, 42 Years Later / Phillip V. Tobias -- Where Does The Genus Homo Begin, And How Would We Know? / Bernard A. Wood -- The Origin Of Homo / William H. Kimbel -- Comparisons Of Early Pleistocene Skulls From East Africa And The Georgian Caucasus : Evidence Bearing On The Origin And Systematics Of Genus Homo / G. Philip Rightmire And David Lordkipanidze -- Phenetic Affinities Of Plio-pleistocene Homo Fossils From South Africa : Molar Cusp Proportions / Frederick E. Grine ... [et Al.] -- Evolution Of The Hominin Shoulder : Early Homo / Susan G. Larson -- Brains, Brawn, And The Evolution Of Human Endurance Running Capabilities / Daniel E. Lieberman ... [et Al.] -- Interlimb Proportions In Humans And Fossil Hominins : Variability And Scaling / William L. Jungers -- Growth And Development Of The Nariokotome Youth, Knm-wt 15000 / M. Christopher Dean And B. Holly Smith -- Dental Evidence For Diets Of Early Homo / Peter S. Ungar And Robert S. Scott -- Origins And Adaptations Of Early Homo : What Archeology Tells Us / Hélène Roche, Robert J. Blumenschine And John J. Shea -- Plio-pleistocene East African Pulsed Climate Variability And Its Influence On Early Human Evolution / Mark A. Maslin And Martin H. Trauth -- Tracking Ecological Change In Relation To The Emergence Of Homo Near The Plio-pleistocene Boundary / Kaye E. Reed And Samantha M. Russak -- Ecology Of Plio-pleistocene Mammals In The Omo-turkana Basin And The Emergence Of Homo / René Bobe And Meave G. Leakey -- Biogeochemical Evidence For The Environments Of Early Homo In South Africa / Matt Sponheimer And Julia A. Lee-thorp -- The First Humans : A Summary Perspective On The Origin And Early Evolution Of The Genus Homo / Frederick E. Grine And John G. Fleagle. Edited By Frederick E. Grine, John G. Fleagle, Richard E. Leakey. Includes Bibliographical References And Indexes. Front Matter....Pages i-xi Early Humans: Of Whom Do We Speak?....Pages 3-6 Homo habilis —A Premature Discovery: Remembered by One of Its Founding Fathers, 42 Years Later....Pages 7-15 Where Does the Genus Homo Begin, and How Would We Know?....Pages 17-28 The Origin of Homo ....Pages 31-37 Comparisons of Early Pleistocene Skulls from East Africa and the Georgian Caucasus: Evidence Bearing on the Origin and Systematics of Genus Homo ....Pages 39-48 Phenetic Affinities of Plio-Pleistocene Homo Fossils from South Africa: Molar Cusp Proportions....Pages 49-62 Evolution of the Hominin Shoulder: Early Homo ....Pages 65-75 Brains, Brawn, and the Evolution of Human Endurance Running Capabilities....Pages 77-92 Interlimb Proportions in Humans and Fossil Hominins: Variability and Scaling....Pages 93-98 Growth and Development of the Nariokotome Youth, KNM-WT 15000....Pages 101-120 Dental Evidence for Diets of Early Homo ....Pages 121-134 Origins and Adaptations of Early Homo : What Archeology Tells Us....Pages 135-147 Plio-Pleistocene East African Pulsed Climate Variability and Its Influence on Early Human Evolution....Pages 151-158 Tracking Ecological Change in Relation to the Emergence of Homo Near the Plio-Pleistocene Boundary....Pages 159-171 Ecology of Plio-Pleistocene Mammals in the Omo—Turkana Basin and the Emergence of Homo ....Pages 173-184 Biogeochemical Evidence for the Environments of Early Homo in South Africa....Pages 185-194 The First Humans: A Summary Perspective on the Origin and Early Evolution of the Genus Homo ....Pages 197-207 Back Matter....Pages 209-218 There are some issues in human paleontology that seem to be timeless. Most deal with the origin and early evolution of our own genus – something about which we should care. Some of these issues pertain to taxonomy and systematics. How many species of Homo were there in the Pliocene and Pleistocene? How do we identify the earliest members the genus Homo? If there is more than one Plio-Pleistocene species, how do they relate to one another, and where and when did they evolve? Other issues relate to questions about body size, proportions and the functional adaptations of the locomotor skeleton. When did the human postcranial “Bauplan” evolve, and for what reasons? What behaviors (and what behavioral limitations) can be inferred from the postcranial bones that have been attributed to Homo habilis and Homo erectus? Still other issues relate to growth, development and life history strategies, and the biological and archeological evidence for diet and behavior in early Homo. It is often argued that dietary change played an important role in the origin and early evolution of our genus, with stone tools opening up scavenging and hunting opportunities that would have added meat protein to the diet of Homo. Still other issues relate to the environmental and climatic context in which this genus evolved.