Re: Ape fossil record

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• Next message: Ralph T. Edwards: "Crossing the language threshold was Re: First Language"

I have a real problem with the idea that forest environments are bad for
fossilization. Many of the well-known fossil primate sites seem to be
from forested areas (Fayum, Songhor, Rusinga). After all, where do most
primates live? If it were the case that we weren't gettting forested
enviroments sampled in the fossil record, we wouldn't have any PRIMATES,
full stop. This clearly isn't the case, so the explanation must lie
elsewhere.

But here's the real kicker; how would we recognise a fossil chimp/gorilla
if we found one? Think about this in terms of what commonly preserves
and what is anatomically diagnostic.

• Next message: Ralph T. Edwards: "Crossing the language threshold was Re: First Language"