ABSTRACT
Fundamental to that view was the idea that the categories "hominids" and "pongids," represented today by the rather different humans and great apes, could be extended back into the past, into Middle Miocene times. Two groups are not enough to contain the diversity of extinct and extant forms. And "culture" looks less and less plausible as the driving force behind the early phases of human evolution; rather, food, feeding behavior, and habitat seem more likely evolutionary forces. There are many lessons to be drawn from looking at the contrast, some perhaps of use in future thinking about human origins, others of a more personal nature. This chapter suggests that beliefs about Ramapithecus and the whole story of human origins needed rethinking. The ramapithecids were a diverse array of species, grouped into several genera that exploited woodland habitats of Africa, Europe, and Asia around 10 million years ago.
