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Birth of primate comparative anatomy.
- Source :
-
Evolutionary anthropology [Evol Anthropol] 2020 Jan; Vol. 29 (1), pp. 9-13. Date of Electronic Publication: 2020 Jan 29. - Publication Year :
- 2020
-
Abstract
- In 1698, a creature with a perplexing mix of human and "ape" features died in London. Brought back to England by merchants who had acquired it during a trading mission to West Africa, it attracted the attention of the Royal Society, and after the death of what we now know was a juvenile chimpanzee, Edward Tyson, a distinguished physician/anatomist, was commissioned to undertake its dissection. Tyson, who was assisted by William Cowper, prepared a detailed written and graphic description of their meticulous dissection, and this forms the major part of his 1699 publication Orang-outang sive Homo sylvestris: or The Anatomy of a Pygmie compared with that of a Monkey, an Ape, and a Man. Tyson records the many ways his "pygmie" resembled, and differed from, modern humans, including acute assessments of its brain and pelvic anatomy. Tyson's monograph is a text-book example of the comparative method. He, and it, deserve more recognition.<br /> (© 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1520-6505
- Volume :
- 29
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Evolutionary anthropology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 31994265
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1002/evan.21815