Abstract: | Detailed comparisons of the postcranium, cranium, and dentition of Pan paniscus, Pan troglodytes, and Homo reveal that except for slight differences in fore- and hindlimb proportions and the morphology of the shoulder, the postcranium of the two species of Pan are allometrically scaled variants of the same animal and one does not resemble Homo more than the other. Nor does the postcranium of one species of Pan resemble Australopithecus more closely than the other when the effects of body size are controlled. The over all morphological pattern of the skull and teeth of the two chimpanzees is clearly different, however, but both are about equally distinct from the earliest known members of the family Hominidae. |