William L. Jungers

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

William L. Jungers (born November 17, 1948 in Palacios , Texas ) is an American paleoanthropologist and since 1988 professor at the Department of Anatomy at Stony Brook University in Long Island , New York . As an expert in functional morphology , he particularly researches the biomechanics of the two-legged, upright gait (bipede) of the early ancestors and relatives of anatomically modern humans . He is considered one of the world's most experienced experts in this field.

Life and research

William Jungers graduated from Streator Township High School in Streator , Illinois in 1966 and then attended Oberlin College in Oberlin , Ohio . After completing his bachelor's degree (1970), he moved to Ann Arbor at the University of Michigan , where he received his master's degree in 1973 and his doctorate in anthropology in 1976 . First as a postdoctoral fellow (1976–1978) and then as a research assistant (until 1988), Jungers researched and taught at the Institute for Anatomy at Stony Brook University in New York State . In 1988 he was appointed professor of anatomy in the same position and was also director of the institute from 2006 to 2015.

Already in his osteological doctoral thesis Junger focused on the example of Megaladapis - an extinct species of primates from Madagascar - with the interplay of form and function of the bones in the skeletal system . Numerous other publications on the anatomy and tribal history of the lemurs of Madagascar followed.

His publications on the locomotion of the early hominini , in particular on the bipedia of " Lucy ", the most famous find of an Australopithecus afarensis , and the even older species Orrorin tugenensis , also attracted special attention from experts .

More recently, he has also repeatedly authored and co-authored studies on Homo floresiensis , which contributed significantly to the fact that these fossils were scientifically recognized as a separate species of the genus Homo .

Honors

Fonts (selection)

  • with Sergio Almécija and Jeroen B. Smaers: The evolution of human and ape hand proportion. In: Nature Communications . Volume 6, Article No. 8717, 2015, doi: 10.1038 / ncomms8717
  • Size and Scaling in Primate Biology. Springer 2014, ISBN 978-1-4899-3649-3 (reprint of the 1st edition: Plenum Press, New York 1985).
  • with Steven M. Goodman and Velizar Simeonovski (Illustrator): Extinct Madagascar: Picturing the Island's Past. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago 2014, ISBN 978-0226143972 .
  • with Yousuke Kaifu: On dental wear, dental work, and oral health in the type specimen (LB1) of Homo floresiensis. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 145, No. 2, 2011, pp. 282-289, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.21492
  • WL Jungers et al .: Descriptions of the lower limb skeleton of Homo floresiensis. In: Journal of Human Evolution. Volume 57, No. 5, 2009, pp. 538-554, doi: 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2008.08.014 .
  • MJ Morwood and WL Jungers: Conclusions: implications of the Liang Bua excavations for hominin evolution and biogeography. In: Journal of Human Evolution. Volume 57, No. 5, 2009, pp. 640-648, doi: 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2009.08.003
  • Ian J. Wallace, Brigitte Demes, William L. Jungers, Martin Alvero and Anne Su: The bipedalism of the Dmanisi hominins: Pigeon-toed early Homo? In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 136, No. 4, 2008, pp. 375-378, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.20827
  • Lucy's length: Stature reconstruction in Australopithecus afarensis (AL288-1) with implications for other small-bodied hominids. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 76, No. 2, 1988, pp. 227-231, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.1330760211
  • On Canine Reduction in Early Hominids. In: Current Anthropology Volume 19, No. 1, 1978, pp. 155-156, doi: 10.1086 / 202027

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dr. William Jungers, Anthropologist and Renowned Researcher of Human Evolution, Named Chair of Anatomy at SBUMC. On: stonybrook.edu of November 7, 2006
  2. ↑ STHS set to induct three more to Worthy Hall of Fame. On: mywebtimes.com from December 5, 2014
  3. ^ William Jungers: Osteological Form and Function: the Appendicular Skeleton of Megaladapis, a Subfossil Prosimian from Madagascar (Primates, Lemuroidea). Thesis (Ph. D.), University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 1976.
  4. ↑ The functional significance of skeletal allometry in Megaladapis in comparison to living prosimians. In: American Journal of Physical Anthropology. Volume 49, No. 3, 1978, pp. 303-314, doi: 10.1002 / ajpa.1330490303
  5. ^ William L. Jungers: Lucy's limbs: skeletal allometry and locomotion in Australopithecus afarensis. In: Nature . Volume 297, 1982, pp. 676-678, doi: 10.1038 / 297676a0
  6. ^ Brian G. Richmond and William L. Jungers: Orrorin tugenensis Femoral Morphology and the Evolution of Hominin Bipedalism. In: Science . Volume 319, 2008, pp. 1662-1665, doi: 10.1126 / science.1154197
  7. ↑ Sergio Almécija, Melissa Tallman, David M. Alba, Marta Pina, Salvador Moyà-Solà and William L. Jungers: The femur of Orrorin tugenensis exhibits morphometric affinities with both Miocene apes and later hominins. In: Nature Communications . Volume 4, Article No. 2888, 2013, doi: 10.1038 / ncomms3888
  8. ^ William L. Jungers et al .: The foot of Homo floresiensis. In: Nature. Volume 459, 2009, pp. 81-84, doi: 10.1038 / nature07989
    Rex Dalton: 'Hobbit' was a dwarf with large feet. On: nature.com from May 6, 2009, doi: 10.1038 / news.2009.448
    Elizabeth Culotta: When Hobbits (Slowly) Walked the Earth. In: Science. Volume 230, 2008, pp. 433-435, doi: 10.1126 / science.320.5875.433
  9. ↑ Susan G. Larson, William L. Jungers et al .: Homo floresiensis and the evolution of the hominin shoulder. In: Journal of Human Evolution . Volume 53, No. 6, 2007, pp. 718-731, doi: 10.1016 / j.jhevol.2007.06.003
personal data
SURNAME Jungers, William L.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American paleoanthropologist
DATE OF BIRTH November 17, 1948
PLACE OF BIRTH Palacios , Texas