The DOI matches its Crossref record; 11 of the 11 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Hominid Brain Evolution: Looks Can Be Deceiving
Abstract
What is the evolutionary history of the human brain? Conventional wisdom holds that cranial capacity began to increase rapidly about 2 million years ago, almost doubling in size, then leveling off in the modern era. In her research commentary, Falk discusses results presented in the same issue by Conroy et al . that cast doubt on this neat picture. By means of computed tomography, the reseachers were able to measure accurately the cranial capacity of a new specimen of Australopithecus africanus . The measured value is significantly less than expected, and Falk suggests this will cause a major reevaluation of previous measurements of hominid skulls and a profound alteration in the understanding of brain evolution.
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“Modifications to the maternal human pelvis necessary to accommodate bipedalism caused a selective shift toward premature and helpless neonates (Falk, 1998) whose ability to cling actively to their mothers (as is the case in other primates) was accordingly lost.”
From Back to basics: A re-evaluation of the relevance of imprinting in the genesis of Bowlby’s attachment theory (2022) · cites this paper as Falk, 1998
Citations
Cites
Age of the Earliest Known Hominids in Java, Indonesia
Swisher, C. C., Curtis, G. H., Jacob, T., Getty, A. G., Suprijo, A., & Widiasmoro (1994) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.8108729 · Cited by 422
2.5-Myr Australopithecus boisei from west of Lake Turkana, Kenya
Walker, A., Leakey, R. E. F., Harris, J. M., & Brown, F. (1986) · Nature · doi:10.1038/322517a0 · Cited by 331
The evolution of body mass and relative brain size in fossil hominids
Kappelman, J. W. (1996) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.1996.0021 · Cited by 255
Falk, D. (1987) · Annual Review of Anthropology · doi:10.1146/annurev.an.16.100187.000305 · Cited by 175
Self-citationEndocranial Capacity in an Early Hominid Cranium from Sterkfontein, South Africa
Conroy, G. C., Weber, G. W., Seidler, H., et al. (1998) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.280.5370.1730 · Cited by 114
Seidler, H., Falk, D., Stringer, C. B., Wilfing, H., Müller, G. B., Nedden, D. Z., Weber, G., Reicheis, W., & Arsuaga, J. L. (1997) · Journal of Human Evolution · doi:10.1006/jhev.1997.0163 · Cited by 110
Self-citationFalk, D. (1985) · Nature · doi:10.1038/313045a0 · Cited by 103
Self-citationCranial capacity evolution in Homo erectus and early Homo sapiens
Leigh, S. R. (1992) · American Journal of Physical Anthropology · doi:10.1002/ajpa.1330870102 · Cited by 84
Evolution of the brain and cognition in hominids
Falk, D. (1992) · Biodiversity Heritage Library (Smithsonian Institution) · doi:10.5281/zenodo.16658847 · Cited by 38
Self-citationLeakey, R. E. F., & Walker, A. (1985) · National geographic/The complete National geographic/The National geographic magazine · Cited by 14
Research works printed but not linked: 2
- Leakey R. E. F., Walker A. C., Natl. Geogr. Mag.168, 624 (1985).
- Holloway R. L., in Origins of the Human Brain, , Changeux J.-P. and , Chavaillon J., Eds. (Clarendon, Oxford, 1995), pp. 42–54.
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Robledo, J.-P., Cross, I., Boada-Bayona, L., & Demogeot, N. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1033746 · Cited by 22
“Modifications to the maternal human pelvis necessary to accommodate bipedalism caused a selective shift toward premature and helpless neonates (Falk, 1998) whose ability to cling actively to their mothers (as is the case in other primates) was accordingly lost.”
Metadata
- Authors
- Falk, D.
- Affiliations
- State University of New York (US)
- Corresponding author
- Falk, Dean
- ORCID
- Falk, Dean
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1998-06-12
- Volume
- 280
- Issue
- 5370
- Pages
- 1714-1714
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W1899856150
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 11
- Citations by year
- 2023: 1 · 2022: 4 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 1 · 2012: 2
- FWCI
- 10.95
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Primate Behavior and Ecology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Morphological variations and asymmetry
- Keywords
- hominid brain evolution, cranial capacity, Australopithecus africanus, brain size, computed tomography measurement, human evolution
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Brain, Computer Simulation, Biological Evolution, Fossils, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Models, Anatomic, Skull, Tomography, X-Ray Computed, Hominidae, History, Ancient
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- Falk, D. (1998). Hominid Brain Evolution: Looks Can Be Deceiving. Science. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5370.1714
