Hominids' taxonomy. Three levels of discussion

Paleoanthropology plays a significant role in the study of man and the research of his past. As we all know, the anthropologists in the last century followed the alternative trends of multiplying and reducing the number of taxonomic names. The present paper presents three different levels of taxonomic discussion concerning fossil hominids. These levels belong to different orders: empirical, theoretical and psychological, and they do not exist in isolation from each other. On the contrary, they are connected and interdependent. It shall also be argued that taxonomic controversies described below arise from both objective and subjective factors.