Status of Kromdraai

Focusing on variation, the author addresses three key problems that plague the assessment of early hominid (australopithecine) relationships, and the role played by the `robust' australopithecines. These are the specific relationship of the Kromdraai hominids to the similar remains from Swartkrans, the question of how the Kromdraai australopithecines pertains to the origin of the other `robust' australopithecines, including the East African Australopithecus boisei, and the question of whether and how the Kromdraai australopithecines relate to early members of the genus Homo. These questions are addressed in a detailed, exhaustive study. Species identities are inferred from morphological criteria guided by the evolutionary species concept, and the methodology of phylogenetic systematics is applied to the questions of common ancestry and the genealogical relationships of the taxa studied, and in an attempt to develop hypotheses of ancestor-des-cendant relationships. This study contributes to the understanding of early hominid evolution and demonstrates the continued importance of the South African finds for understanding our own origins.