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Some Thoughts on the Black Skull: An Archeologist's Assessment of WT‐17000 ( A. boisei ) and Systematics in Human Paleontology
Author(s) -
Clark G. A.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american anthropologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.51
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1548-1433
pISSN - 0002-7294
DOI - 10.1525/aa.1988.90.2.02a00070
Subject(s) - systematics , context (archaeology) , biology , paleontology , evolutionary biology , archaeology , zoology , history , taxonomy (biology)
A nontechnical assessment of the controversial Black Skull is provided. Claims that it could not be accommodated by any known phylogeny are rejected in the context of a discussion of systematics in human paleontology. It is suggested that the discipline lacks a clear‐cut conception of science, and is characterized by poorly formed theories that can neither be confirmed nor rejected. Research designs appear to be unconstrained pattern searches using variables selected more by convention or for convenience than for demonstrated diagnostic utility. Explanations based on such designs are a weak form of inference since they are wholly dependent on their warranting arguments.