Some Considerations in the Formulation of Theories of Human Phylogeny

There are signs that closer attention is being paid by physical anthropologists to the principles of evolutionary systematics. In retrospect it would be appropriate to date this increased awareness from the appearance of the notable essays by Colbert (1949) and G. G. Simpson (1953) in which were adumbrated a number of fundamental phylogenetic principles for the specific guidance of the physical anthropologist. A further step was taken by Le Gros Clark (1955) in his discussion of “morphological and phylogenetic problems of taxonomy in relation to hominid evolution.”