Research on Miocene Hominoids and Hominid Origins

This brief commentary begins with my graduate work with Elwyn Simons which culminated in the 1965 “Preliminary Revision of the Dryopithecinae,” then about the most comprehensive review of the paleontological record of the great apes (Simons and Pilbeam, 1965). It reflected a time when that fossil record was dominated by teeth and fragmentary jaws, one decent skull, and a handful of postcranial remains. Much has changed since then, both in the record itself and in how it is interpreted, and what follows are reflections on where we are, how we got here, and where we might go next.