Frederick E. Grine

Frederick E. Grine is an American paleoanthropologist. He is a Professor of anthropology and anatomical sciences at the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

He received his bachelors's degree from Washington & Jefferson College, and his Ph.D at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa in 1984.

His research focuses on the hominin fossil record, during the Pliocene and early Pleistocene and the reconstruction of phylogenetic relationships through dental morphology. His most important work has been the analysis of dental microwear in order to reconstruct early hominin dietary habits.

Dr. Grine is a major proponent in the argument that species of robust australopithecine should be given their own genus name, "Paranthropus" [Strait DS, Grine FE. "Inferring hominoid and early hominid phylogeny using craniodental characters: the role of fossil taxa." "Journal of Human Evolution", December 2004 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15566946&dopt=Citation] (abstract)] . He also argues that the "Australopithecus" clade is paraphyletic which would require a new taxonomic designation for specimens included under "Australopithecus afarensis" to "Praeanthropus africanus" [Strait DS, Grine FE. "Inferring hominoid and early hominid phylogeny using craniodental characters: the role of fossil taxa." "Journal of Human Evolution", December 2004 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=15566946&dopt=Citation] (abstract)] .

He is the editor of "Evolutionary History of the Robust Australopithecines" (Transaction Publishers, ISBN 0202361373) and co-editor of "Primate Phylogeny" (Academic Press, ISBN 0123039606). He is also author of the widely used anatomical textbook "Regional Human Anatomy: a Laboratory Workbook for Use With Models And Prosections" (McGraw-Hill College, ISBN 0072438886). In addition to this, Dr. Grine has published well over 100 scientific research articles.

He is also known for his work in leading the team that dated the Hofmeyr Skull, discovered in 1952 near the town of Hofmeyr, in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, to 36,000 years before present [F.E. Grine, R.M. Bailey, K. Harvati, R.P. Nathan, A.G. Morris, G.M. Henderson, I. Ribot, A.W.G. Pike. "Late Pleistocene Human Skull from Hofmeyr, South Africa and Modern Human Origins." Science (magazine), 12. January 2007 [http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/abstract/315/5809/226. (abstract)] ] . This skull probably represents the population ancestral to most modern living humans [" 'Out Of Africa' Theory Boost: Skull Dating Suggests Modern Humans Evolved In Africa" [http://www.primates.com/homo/outofafrica.html Max Planck society] January 12, 2007. ] , [ "Skull Is First Fossil Proof of Human Migration Theory, Study Says" Sean Markey for National Geographic News, January 12, 2007 [http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/01/070112-africa-skull.html text] ] .

References

External links

[http://www.sunysb.edu/anthro/staff/fgrine.shtml Official web page at SUNY]