Ramapithecus and Hominid Origins [and Comments and Reply]

Abstract

The importance of Ramapithecus has traditionally been in the claim that it represents the earliest hominid. It is argued here that the development of Ramapithecus interpretations has been dependent upon the currently accepted theory of hominid origins. In turn, theories of hominid origins have been influenced by the emerging understanding of the ramapithecine adaptive radiation. Recent evidence strongly suggests an ancestry for Pongo among the ramapithecines, and it is suggested that the earliest hominids as well as the African apes also evolved from a ramapithecine species. The origin of the hominids is viewed as a speciation event in a late African ramapithecine species, and it is hypothesized that competition between the early hominids and the emerging African apes resulted in divergence and character displacement in both lineages. The realization of hominization in this latest ramapithecine, combined with the numerous primitive characteristics of the earliest hominids, helps bridge the gap between humans and their predivergence ancestors. The resulting interpretation of the ramapithecines preserves many of the earlier claims about their phylogenetic significance.