Functional Inference in Paleoanthropology: Theory and Practice

In this deep examination of functional morphology, a renowned paleoanthropologist offers a new way to investigate human evolution through the fossil record.

It is common for two functional anatomists to examine the exact same fossil material, yet argue over its evolutionary significance. How can this be?

Traditionally, paleoanthropology has interpreted hominin fossil morphology by first considering the ecological challenges hominins faced, then drawing adaptive inferences based on the idea t...