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We examined the biogeographic patterns implied by early hominid phylogenies and compared them to the known dispersal patterns of Plio-Pleistocene African mammals. All recent published phylogenies require between four and seven hominid dispersal events between southern Africa, eastern Africa, and the Malawi Rift, a greater number of dispersals than has previously been supposed. Most hominid species dispersed at the same time and in the same direction as other African mammals. However, depending on the ages of critical hominid specimens, many phylogenies identify at least one hominid species that dispersed in the direction opposite that of contemporaneous mammals. This suggests that those hominids may have possessed adaptations that allowed them to depart from continental patterns of mammalian dispersal.

Multianvil experiments were conducted at 1400 to 1600 [degrees] C on olivine and peridotite starting compositions to determine the partitioning of Ti, Al, Cr, Ni, Ca, and Na between coexisting olivine and wadsleyite. All of these elements occur as minor amounts in mantle olivine. Our experiments indicate that all, except Ca, partition preferentially into wadsleyite relative to olivine. The order of preference for wadsleyite is Ni[less than]Na[less than]Cr[less than]Ti[less than]Al, with [Mathematical Expression Omitted] of about 2 for Ni, 3 for Na, and between 5 and 8 for Cr, Ti, and Al. We observe a strong negative correlation between the Si and Cr (+Al) contents of wadsleyite, indicating a coupled substitution of 2[Cr.sup.3+] for [Mg.sup.2+] + [Si.sup.4+]. Modeling the influence of the trace elements on the olivine-wadsleyite transformation in the mantle indicates broadening effects on the order of 1-3 km, much smaller than that predicted to arise from mantle concentrations of [H.sub.2]O. Therefore, effects of these trace elements on the properties of the 410 km seismic discontinuity are considered negligible. The maximum solubility of Ti[O.sub.2] in wadsleyite (about 0.6%) is consistent with the suggestion that olivines containing about 1 vol% FeTi[O.sub.3] could be inverted wadsleyite.

Body mass estimates for fossil hominin taxa can be obtained from suitable postcranial and cranial variables. However, the nature of the taphonomic processes that winnow the mammalian fossil record are such that these data are usually only available for the minority of the specimens that comprise the hypodigm of a species. This study has investigated the link between species mean body mass and the height and width of the mandibular corpus in a core sample of 23 species of extant simians. The slopes of the least-squares regressions for the whole sample and for the hominoid subset are similar. However, the intercepts differ so that for a given body mass, a hominoid will generally have a smaller mandible than a generalized simian. The same mandibular measurements were taken on 75 early hominin mandibles assigned to eight species groups. When mandibular corpus height- and width-derived estimates of body mass for the fossil taxa were compared with available postcranial and cranial-derived body mass estimates, the eight early hominin species sort into four groups. The first, which includes A. afarensis and A. africanus, has mandibles which follow a 'generalized simian' scaling relationship. The second group, which comprises the two 'robust' australopithecine species, P. boisei and P. robustus, has mandibles which scale with body mass as if they are 'supersimians,' for they have substantially larger mandibles than a simian with the same body mass. The two 'early Homo' species, H. habilis sensu stricto and H. rudolfensis, make up the third group. It has mandibular scaling relationships that are intermediate between that of the comparative simian sample and that of the hominoid subsample. The last of the four groups comprises H. ergaster and H. erectus; their mandibles scale with body mass as if they were hominoids, so that of the four groups they have the smallest mandibles per unit body mass. These results are related to comparable information about relative tooth size. Their relevance for attempts to interpret the dietary adaptations of early hominins are explored. KEY WORDS hominin body mass; mandibular scaling; australopithecines; early Homo, Homo erectus

It is 70 years since Adolf Schultz urged his colleagues to consider how studies of primate growth and development could help them interpret the course of human evolution. This paper considers the evolutionary context of comparative growth studies. It compares and contrasts aspects of the ontogeny of living modern humans and chimpanzees, and considers whether relatively simple models of heterochronic change can account for the modifications which have taken place during the course of human evolutionary history. KEY WORDS: Dentition, Development, Comparative, Hominoid, Cranium

A sliding redox sensor of (Ni,Mn)O + Ni metal is used to measure the oxygen fugacity, f(sub O2), of the graphite C-O equilibrium. The measurements are made for pressures ranging between 15-30 kbar and temperatures between 1100-1400 degrees centigrade. The fugacity measurements are used in estimating the fugacity of CO2 with an error of plus or minus 0.1 log units. Experimental details of fugacity measurements and an analysis of the results are given.

Body mass is a key variable in investigating the evolutionary biology of the hominines (Australopithecus, Paranthropus, and Homo). It is not only closely related to life-history parameters but also provides a necessary baseline for studies of encephalization or megadonty. Body mass estimates are normally based on the postcranial skeleton. However, the majority of hominid fossils are cranio-dental remains that are unassociated with post-cranial material. Only rarely can postcranial material be linked with cranio-dentally defined hominid taxa. This study responds to this problem by evaluating body mass estimates based on 15 cranial variables to determine whether they compare in reliability with estimates determined from postcranial variables. Results establish that some cranial variables, and particularly orbital area, orbital height, and biporionic breadth, are nearly as good mass predictors for hominoids as are some of the best postcranial predictors. For the hominines in particular, orbital height is the cranial variable which produces body mass estimates that are most in line with postcranially generated estimates. Both orbital area and biporionic breadth scale differently in the hominines than they do in the other hominoids. This difference in scaling results in unusually large estimates of body mass based on these variables for the larger-sized hominines, although the three cranial variables produce equivalent predicted masses for the smaller-bodied hominines. KEYWORDS: Plio-Pleistocene hominids, Predicted body mass, Cranial variables

Of the presently recognised early hominid species, Paranthropus boisei is one of the better known from the fossil record and arguably the most distinctive; the latter interpretation rests on the numbers of apparently derived characters it incorporates. The species as traditionally diagnosed is distributed across approximately one million years and is presently confined to samples from East African sites. The hypodigm has been examined for evidence of intraspecific phyletic evolution, with particular emphasis on the areas best represented in the fossil record, namely the teeth and mandible. The results of this examination of 55 mandibular and dental variables, which uses the [Gamma] test statistic for the detection of trend, and nonparametric spline regression (Loess regression) for investigating pattern and rate of temporal change, show that within Paranthropus boisei sensu stricto most evidence of temporally related morphological trends relates to the morphology of the [P.sub.4] crown. There is little or no evidence of any tendency to increase in overall size through time. Fossils from the Omo Shungura Formation and West Turkana which have been recovered from a time period earlier than the P. boisei sensu stricto hypodigm resemble the latter taxon in some features, but differ from it in aspects of cranial morphology. There is insufficient fossil evidence of the earlier taxon to tell whether it changes through time, but when trends of 47 mandibular and dental variables are assessed across the combined East African 'robust' australopithecine sample, there is evidence for a relatively abrupt change around 2.2-2.3 Myr in approximately 25% of the dental and mandibular remains. Some of these changes correspond with the temporal trends within P. boisei sensu stricto, but others, such as mandible height, do not. If the earlier material is ancestral to P. boisei sensu stricto, evidence from the teeth and jaws is consistent with a punctuated origin for the latter taxon.

Observation of the vestibular system of living primates and early hominids reveals that the bony labyrinth morphology explains the locomotor property and phylogenetic relationships of early hominids. The fossil hominids of Homo erectus explain the modern human semicircular canal morphology, which suggests its obligatory bipedal behavior. Australopithecus africanus exhibits a locomotor behavior of facultative bipedalism and arboreal climbing.

Crown and cusp areas of mandibular molars were measured and analyzed on a sample of 249 specimens attributed to Australopithecus afarensis, A. africanus, A. (Paranthropus) robustus, A. (P.) boisei, and early Homo. In addition to intertaxon comparisons, we compared data that had been collected independently by two of the authors using methods that differ slightly in technique of measurement. Interobserver differences were evaluated by the t-test of paired comparisons, method error statistic, percent differences, and principal component analysis. Results suggest that between-technique error of measurement of overall crown area is small. Error estimates for individual cusp area measurements were of larger relative magnitude. However, these were not sufficient to detract from the conclusions derived from comparative analyses. Our results are in general agreement with previous assessments of early hominid dental size. Crown areas of A. africanus, however, exhibit a mosaic pattern, with M1 similar in size to that of A. afarensis and early Homo, and M2 and M3 similar in size to that of A. robustus. Intertaxon comparisons of relative cusp area were undertaken by univariate statistics and principal component analysis. These analyses revealed that while A. (P.) robustus and A. (P.) boisei both possess mandibular molars with cusp proportions significantly different from the 'non-robust' taxa, these differences are substantially greater in A. (P.) boisei.