The Ape in the Tree: An Intellectual and Natural History of Proconsul.THE APE IN THE TREE: An Intellectual and Natural History of Proconsul Proconsul, in zoology Proconsul, extinct group of apes, now considered a subgroup of Dryopithecus. Proconsul fossils have been discovered in E Africa. It is a probable ancestor of the chimpanzee and lived from 12 to 25 million years ago. ALAN WALKER There are several notable people named Alan Walker:
n. 1. A sailor. 2. A shipmaster. Paleontologist Walker recounts his own extensive research and others'--including coauthor Shipman's--in remote regions of Africa The continent of Africa can be conceptually subdivided into a number of regions or subregions. Directional approach One common approach categorises Africa directionally, e.g. . The objects of study were 14-million-to-20-million-year-old fossils of the genus Proconsul--perhaps the last common ancestor to apes and hominids. Mary Leakey Noun 1. Mary Leakey - English paleontologist (the wife of Louis Leakey) who discovered the Zinjanthropus skull that was 1,750,000 years old (1913-1996) Mary Douglas Leakey, Leakey discovered the first fossils of a Proconsul in 1959 in Kenya. In Walker's voice, the authors use the original find and their own discoveries as a basis for discussions of evolution and how fossils are deciphered. Part intellectual history and part adventure story, this book describes in detail the often-difficult, unpredictable, dangerous, but ultimately rewarding work of digging for fossils and revealing the past. Readers will enjoy this insider's look at how paleontologists conduct digs but should be prepared for some technical jargon. Belknap Press, 2005, 312 p., b&w photos and illus., hardcover, $25.95. |
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