Cambridge University Press, 2001. Reviewed by Kieran P. McNulty Division of Paleontology NYCEP American Museum of Natural History Central Park West at 79th Street New York, NY 10024 USA In 1998, the 3rd Workshop on Phylogeny of Eurasian Neogene Hominoid Primates took place in Nikiti, Greece. Sponsored by the European Science Foundation, the conference led to this edited volume, which includes contributions from many noteworthies of Eurasian Miocene paleontology. While its predecessor volume (Agustí et al., 1999) covered issues in the evolution of Neogene terrestrial ecosystems, this book is devoted to untangling the complex relationships among Eurasian fossil apes, their predecessors, and their successors. The volume is divided into three main sections, although Part I (Chronology and environment) contains only two chapters. The bulk of the text is devoted to Methods and Phylogeny (Part II) and Function and Phylogeny (Part III). An important aspect of this book is the diversity of methodological techniques explored by its contributors. Several chapters relate traditional approaches to paleontology: European Miocene biochronology (Agustí, Cabrera, & Garcés), descriptive morphology of the Udabno hominoid (Gabunia, Gabashvili, Vekua, & Lordkipanidze), functional morphology of Ankarapithecus (Andrews & Alpagut), and traditional statistical analyses of great apes (Braga) and of Graecopithecus (Bonis & Koufos; Kelley). Other papers explore more recently developed methods: digital image processing (Machiarelli, Rook, & Bondioli) and data extraction (Zollikofer & Ponce de Léon), dental microwear analysis (King), geometric morphometrics (Richmond & Whalen), and database analysis (Fortelius & Hokkanen). This latter group illustrates both the growing potential of such research tools as well as their associated limitations. As a whole, this volume gives a broad introduction to the many avenues of research employed in paleoanthropology. A real highlight of the book is the contrast between authors advocating parsimony-based cladistic methods and those preferring a priori character analysis. Begun (Chapter 10), adding to an already substantial character database (Begun et al., 1997), presents here a parsimony analysis of fourteen hominoid taxa. In exploring the branching sequences, tree topologies, and the effects of underlying characters, he navigates the resultant trees with a sure-handed manner best described as brachiation. Collard & Wood (Chapter 6) also contribute a parsimony-based analysis, reiterating their critique of phylogeny hypotheses built from craniodental characters. These papers are sharply contrasted by chapters from Köhler, Moyà-Solà, and Alba (Chapters 8) and Alba, Moyà-Solà, Köhler, and Rook (Chapter 13). Both adopt a more descriptive approach, exploring the biological significance of a few features and using these, in turn, to draw phylogenetic conclusions. Both theoretical approaches are well presented by their respective authors, and open-minded readers will not easily judge between them. Problems with character delineation, analysis, transformation, weighting--indeed, with the concept of “character”--still plague all good phylogeneticists. The value in these contributions, then, is that they effectively illustrate the differing theoretical perspectives from which one can choose to analyze and interpret fossil evidence. An excellent example of these differing perspectives can be taken from Collard & Wood’s chapter. After demonstrating that craniodental characters do not reproduce standard molecular phylogenies, they conclude that “primate craniodental characters perform poorly in attempts to…recover the relevant phylogenetic history” (p. 130). In reference to this same study, however, Alba et al. draw the equally valid conclusion that parsimony analyses of these morphological characters perform poorly in reconstructing phylogenetic history. Regardless of one’s theoretical preferences, the thoughtful works by these authors provide an opportunity to re-examine the foundations upon which we base our evolutionary hypotheses. The diverse methodological and theoretical perspectives in this volume are brought together in the final chapter by Pilbeam & Young. As befits its position in the book, this paper reviews the “state of the field” rather than presenting a formal data analysis. Touching briefly on the phylogenetic affinities of Sivapithecus, Pilbeam & Young use this platform to review the general problems involved with phylogenetic analyses of hominoids (and all fossils). Their criticisms of past and current works are well thought out and to the point. They conclude: “we have little faith in any current phylogenetic analyses for Miocene hominoids…nor do we believe that things will improve without some significant new [fossil] material” (p. 359). In their role as Cassandra, Pilbeam & Young provide an invaluable critique of paleoanthropology today and discuss important directions for future research. The bleak leitmotif of the chapter, however, is overstated. Some of the solutions they propose--looking at underlying morphogenetic processes, finding new methods to describe and delineate complex character states--are already being pursued, even by authors within this volume. And, while new fossils will always help to further clarify and confuse things, students of the fossil record cannot simply wait, hoping that “significant new material” will surface. Our knowledge of hominoid phylogeny will advance not just through more fossil anatomy, but also in conjunction with alternative theoretical and methodological approaches for understanding the fossils at hand and those still to be found. The main weakness of this volume is the overall inconsistency of the contributions; some excellent research and theoretical works are balanced by papers that fail to reach substantial conclusions. Additionally, several chapters are summaries or abridgements of papers that have been published elsewhere (although perhaps first presented at this conference). While this is not a weakness, per se, it becomes difficult to justify the high purchase price when one already owns a good portion of the text. Overall, this book is an excellent resource for those interested in the evolutionary history of hominoids. Graduate students will find this broad survey of research methods invaluable for framing the course of their own studies. More senior students may discover alternative ways to attack some of the vexing issues in their ongoing research. The inconsistency of contributions is outweighed by the strength of the majority of chapters. And finally, the contrasting theoretical foundations among the contributors to this volume are an important reminder of the fundamental issues inherent to studying fossils and phylogeny. References Cited: Agustí, Jorge, Lorenzo Rook, and Andrews, Eds. Hominoid Evolution and Climate Change in Europe, Volume 1: The Evolution of Neogene Terrestrial Ecosystems in Europe. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Begun, David R., Carol V. Ward, and Michael D. Rose. 1997. Events in hominoid evolution. In Function, Phylogeny, and Fossils: Miocene Hominoid Evolution and Adaptation. Edited by David R. Begun, Carol V. Ward, and Michael D. Rose. pp. 389-415. New York: Plenum Press. HOW TO CITE THIS REVIEW: McNulty, Kieran P. Review of Hominoid Evolution and Climate Change in Europe, Volume 2: Phylogeny of the Neogene Hominoid Primates of Eurasia. Edited by Louis de Bonis, George D. Koufos, and Peter Andrews. Cambridge University Press, 2001. Primate-Science Book Reviews, Primate-Science List Serve, 2002. [URL: http://www.primate.wisc.edu/pin/review/mcnulty.html].
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