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Sequence and Environments of the Lower and Middle Miocene Hominoids of Western Kenya

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New Interpretations of Ape and Human Ancestry

Part of the book series: Advances in Primatology ((AIPR))

Abstract

A widespread hypothesis in anthropological science is that at some stage in the evolution of humans there must have been an adaptive shift from an arboreal forest existence to a terrestrial savannah one. The reasoning behind this idea seems to be that most extant apes are forest-dwelling, leading to the conclusion that this is probably the primitive (plesiomorphic) hominoid adaptation. Humans, in contrast, are adapted to savannah settings, and this represents a highly derived (apomorphic) condition among hominoids.

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© 1983 Plenum Press, New York

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Pickford, M. (1983). Sequence and Environments of the Lower and Middle Miocene Hominoids of Western Kenya. In: Ciochon, R.L., Corruccini, R.S. (eds) New Interpretations of Ape and Human Ancestry. Advances in Primatology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8854-8_16

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4684-8854-8_16

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4684-8856-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4684-8854-8

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