Show Summary Details

p. 374. Fossil hominins: analysis and interpretationlocked

  • Bernard Wood

Abstract

‘Fossil hominins: analysis and interpretation’ explains how researchers determine how many species there are within the hominin clade. The Linnean system provides a taxonomy into which new fossil finds are fitted. This taxonomical analysis is based on an assessment of morphology. This process is frustrated by the fragments preserved and lack of soft tissues. Researchers do not agree on the number of species, or whether the process through which they are created was gradual or more abrupt. It is also sometimes possible to extract fossil DNA. Creation and preservation of fossils is dictated by environmental factors, and certain body parts are preserved more frequently, leading to gaps and biases.

Access to the complete content on Very Short Introductions online requires a subscription or purchase. Public users are able to search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter without a subscription.

Please subscribe or login to access full text content.

If you have purchased a print title that contains an access token, please see the token for information about how to register your code.

For questions on access or troubleshooting, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.