The study of the growth, development, and life history of primates has seen a resurgence of interest among biological anthropologists over the past two decades. In particular, paleoanthropologists have broadened their analyses of fossil hominins to include aspects of development as it relates to phylogenetic and functional questions. As the editors of this volume make abundantly clear in their introductory essay, there are several compelling reasons why paleoanthropologists need to pay attention to the analysis of form and function throughout all life stages. Much evidence suggests that morphological change within and between species often results from ontogenetic changes (e.g., heterochrony), and that understanding the developmental basis of morphological traits is critical to determining their phylogenetic relevance. The editors of this volume have brought together an international group of developmental researchers (originally at a symposium at the 2001 AAPA meetings in Kansas City) and asked them to consider the origins of the distinctively human pattern of growth and development. The result is an interesting volume, highly diverse in its approaches, methods, and data sets, but unified in its overall focus on attempts to understand ontogeny and life history of fossil members of the genus Homo
