Human Paleontology

Paleontology and Human Paleontology

Fossils, the remains or imprints of dead organisms, are the only physical evidence humans possess of ancient life. While fossils are generally formed from bone, shell, or wood, under very specific conditions, fossils may be formed from soft tissue, animal tracks, skin impressions, and feces. Sometimes, bones are disturbed by scavengers or water movement prior to fossilization; the study of what happens to a bone from the time of the organism's death to its discovery is called taphonomy.

Research in paleontology focuses on reconstructing the history of life on Earth. Fossils provide important clues about past environments, ecosystems, and evolution. Paleontology incorporates knowledge from many fields to understand the processes of evolution and to reconstruct ancient life. Most fossils studied by paleontologists are anywhere from thousands to several millions of years old. Human paleontology focuses on fossils of the human lineage, thought to begin between 5 and 8 million years ago.

Like paleontology, human paleontology utilizes evolutionary theory and the scientific method to test hypotheses about past lifeways and relationships. Ecological niche theory and estimates of inter- and intra-specific competition levels also help reconstruct behaviors and evolutionary pressures. Morphometric and cladistic methodologies help researchers define [Page 1227]fossil species and reconstruct relationships between fossil species and between fossil and living species.

However, human paleontology differs from paleontology in that it studies human origins. This self-reflexive process, humans studying humans, is subject to bias not seen in studying, say, the evolution of birds. Most animals transmit information from generation to generation primarily through genetics (the purview of biological evolution). However, humans have a well-developed ability to pass information along through culture: teaching and learning. While culture is by no means exclusive to humans, humans utilize it so very heavily that it has arguably interfered with evolutionary pressures normally experienced by other animals.

Because of the heavy influence of culture on human adaptation, the application of some paleontological methods can be problematic. While early fossil humans, like other animals, had to adapt biologically and behaviorally to specific environments or ecological niches via natural selection, this is less true for later fossil humans. When fossil humans began to rely on cultural adaptations, such as fire and toolmaking, to assist them in survival, these adaptations created a cultural buffer between them and their environment. If humans can warm themselves through the controlled use of fire, winters are no longer as dangerous as they once were. Communication/language skills and technological sophistication have played large roles in shaping human adaptation to the environment. It is difficult to know how to interpret to what extent the forces of natural selection affected the survival of a species that relies so heavily on technology.

The terms human paleontology and paleoanthropology are often used interchangeably, although the former is primarily focused on the study of human fossils and the latter is a broader multidisciplinary activity. Paleontology does not usually deal with artifacts made by humans, but due to the uniqueness of the human biocultural adaptation, human paleontologists do look at artifacts as well as modern human and primate behavior to better understand the fossil record and humans' place in nature.

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