Re: Human skull evolution

David Campbell (bivalve@mailserv0.isis.unc.edu)
Tue, 9 Jun 1998 12:43:29 -0400

>I know, but I disagree, I believe there were more than one form running
>around in the past at any one time, as there are more than one school of
>thought in paleoanthropology. At this point I have not seen enough evidence
>to suggest that archaic sapiens, and Neanderthals were one species 100,000
>years ago.
>
>I believe the push (by some) for one species of Homo through time is simply
>pc in the worse sense of the term and not good science.

That's "parsimonially correct" rather than "politically correct" in most
cases. Extremist cladists insist that all species are generated by a split
that ends an acestral species to create two new ones, each different from
each other and the ancestor. They reject a linear species sequence, such
as
H hablis-H erectus-H sapiens
but would accept
H hablis-------H erectus---H sapiens
\ \
H heidelburgensis H neandertalensis
Species do not necessarily behave in such a neat manner, so I think their
stance is unwarrented.

David Campbell