Hominoids, hominids and the problem of the lower boundary of the Anthropogene

This paper distinguishes two phases within the Anthropogene, each being characterized by specific features of hominization: the earlier phase the Eoanthropogene, is characterized by the presence of bipedal, small-brained hominoids. These include the australopithecine and habiline fossils, all of which are classified in a separate family, the Australopithecidae. In the second phase, the Euanthropogene, the family Hominidae is present, with its two species, Homo erectus and H. sapiens. The two families, Australopithecidae and Hominidae, are united into a superfamily, the Hominoidea; whilst the pongids are placed in a separate family (Pongidae) and superfamily (Pongoidea). The bearing of the work of the Soviet palaeo-neurologist, the late V. I. Kochetkova on the status of the australopithecines, is reviewed in some detail.