ABSTRACT
In recent years, the discovery of hominid skeletal remains applicable to the important question of the evolutionary appearance of the ancestral forms of the genus Homo has been truly staggering. Paralleling the discovery of relevant fossil materials has been the recognition that hominid evolution was not a simple lineal system of descent. Great variability exists among the hominid fossils, and consequently there has been controversy among the experts regarding the “proper” taxonomic and temporal arrangements of these specimens. It has become increasingly clear that in the interesting era prior to the widespread appearance of Homo erectus and the long-recognized Acheulian archaeological complex of Eurasia and Africa multiple hominid forms (some would say four) are thought to have lived during the time period spanned by the Bed I—II deposits at Olduvai Gorge.
