toli hominids to a new species: Austra- 
lopithecus afarensis. Johanson and 
White regard this species as ancestral 
both to the later Australopithecus lin- 
eage (terminating with Paranthropus) 
and to the Homo lineage (from habilis 
to erectus to sapiens). This hypothesis 
makes concessions to all the old the- 
ories from the sixties. The one-species 
school was right in claiming that Aus- 
tralopithecus evolved into Paranthro- 
pus. They were also right in thinking 
that sexual dimorphism — the sum of 
differences between males and fe- 
males — was greater in early hominids 
than it is in ourselves; Johanson and 
White now see the larger Hadar hom- 
inids with their U-shaped jaws and 
big front teeth as hulking male coun- 
terparts of the smaller females, such 
as Lucy. The three-species people 
were right in believing in an early 
separation of Homo and Australopith- 
ecus and in insisting that habilis was 
a separate species. The two-species 
people were the most nearly right of 
all; they erred only in trying to squeeze 
the later Australopithecus into the hu- 
man ancestry. 
The theoretical vacuum — the ques- 
tion of how we got where we are and 
what it means, which is what lends 
significance to all this gnawing of dead 
bones — remains to be filled. Big brains 
are out as a causal factor in early 
hominid evolution. Even tool making 
is starting to look less important, at 
least so far as Australopithecus is con- 
cerned. We know from the Hadar fos- 
sils (and from the astonishing discov- 
ery of a trail of hominid footprints 
in a volcanic ashfall at Laetoli) that 
these earliest undoubted hominids 
were, despite their ape-sized brains, 
upright bipeds like ourselves. They 
had short-fingered, human-looking 
I- hands that were suited well enough 
to making and using tools. But there 
is no evidence that they did so. Stone 
tools don’t appear in the fossil record 
until just over two million years ago. 
Wherever stone tools are found, so 
is early Homo (with the minor ex- 
ception of one late Paranthropus site 
from South Africa). If we accept the 
evolutionary tree offered by Johanson 
and White, the evidence suggests that 
the use of stone tools was a later in- 
vention that appeared in the Homo 
lineage at about the time the brain 
began to expand — which is probably 
not a coincidence. But the Austra- 
lopithecus line of small-brained bipeds 
continued to survive alongside early 
Homo and his stone tools. Australo- 
Alberta 
The Last Best West 
. .. 7 
Big. beautiful, sprawling, unspoiled. New highs for trail riders and tamer turf for 
tenderfoots. Try some of the best beef in North America. Come on up 
Canada 
SO MUCH TO GO FOR 
All Records 
and tapes ... 
yours now at 
30-45% off! 
Whether you like classical, jazz 
opera Broadway, folk, nostalgia 
country, pop or children's music... 
the entire family can shop at one time 
and save big money! We offer all labels 
and all artists. You may even charge to 
VISA, American Express and Master 
Charge. No commitments and you may 
cancel at any time. Catalogs sent 
to you every three months. 
Membership fee is $2.00 for 2 years 
and you may deduct the fee from your 
first order. Join today! 
INTERNATIONAL 
RECORD & TAPE CLUB— Dept N 
315 W. 36th St. • N.Y., N.Y. 10018 
My fully deductible $2.00 mem- 
bership fee has been enclosed. 
Mail my catalog to: 
Name 
Street 
City 
State Zip 
YOUR FULL SATISFACTION 
IS ALWAYS GUARANTEED! 
Free! 
Edmund Scientific 
Catalog 
Astronomy, Microscopy, Biofeedback, 
Weather, Alternate Energy, Binoculars, 
Optics, Magnets, Magnifiers, Tools, 
Unique Lighting, Lab Equipment, and 
much more. Over 4,000 unique and 
fascinating products. Send for our 
FREE 112-page, colorful 1981 
Edmund Scientific Catalog. . .Today! 
Rush me your free catalog! 
Name 
Address 
City 
State Zip 
Clip And Mail Coupon Today To: 
Edmund Scientific Co Dept. 3C 16 n-08 
Edscorp Bldg.. Barrington. N.J J800~ 
93 
