Humans and apes

[john Grehan]

I have a question regarding a primate exhibit we have prepared for our
museum. In this exhibit we present to the public the current state of
hominid systematics involving two major competing proposals for the nearest
living relative to humans. One hypothesis is the chimp (sometimes chimp and
gorilla), the other is the orangutan. We emphasize that there are two
candidates for nearest relative and that the answer is a matter of current
scientific debate.

In the popular science literature the orangutan hypothesis is usually
suppressed entirely (e.g. recent article in the Natural History magazine)
or glossed over if mentioned at all. In our exhibit we attempt to give some
of the evidence for each. I am curious to know whether any other museums
have presented both models to the public, or by some chance are we the first?

Comments on that status or not for our exhibit would be most welcome. I
regret I have not had the opportunity to visit other museum primate
exhibits to even begin to answer this for myself and TAXACOM offers a
chance for me to obtain a global response.

John Grehan

Dr. John Grehan
Director of Science and Collections
Buffalo Museum of Science
1020 Humboldt Parkway
Buffalo, New York 14211-1293
Voice 716-896-5200 x372
Fax 716-897-6723
jgrehan at sciencebuff.org