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Science 23 January 1981:
Vol. 211. no. 4480, pp. 341 - 350
DOI: 10.1126/science.211.4480.341
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Articles

The Origin of Man

C. Owen Lovejoy 1

1 Professor ot anthropology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44242; professor of human anatomy at the Northeast Ohio Universities College of Medicine; assistant clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at Case Western Reserve University; research associate, Cleveland Museum of Natural History; and chairman of the Biological Anthropology Area Committee, division of biomedical sciences, Kent State University

Five characters separate man from other hominoids—a large neocortex, bipedality, reduced anterior dentition with molar dominance, material culture, and unique sexual and reproductive behavior. Evidence provided by the fossil record, primate behavior, and demographic analysis shows that the traditional view that early human evolution was a direct consequence of brain expansion and material culture is incorrect, and that the unique sexual and reproductive behavior of man may be the sine qua non of human origin.


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