Terry Harrison
Professor of Anthropology; Associate ChairPh.D. 1982, B.Sc. 1978, Ph.D. 1982, University College, London.
Office Address: Rufus D. Smith Hall 25 Waverly Place New York, NY 10003
Email:
Phone: 212-998-8581
Fax: 212-995-4014
Areas of Research/Interest
Primate and human paleontology, evolutionary morphology, and paleoecology. Broader research interests include the systematics and evolutionary history of hominoids and cercopithecoids, comparative anatomy and functional morphology of primates, paleobiology, allometry, vertebrate paleontology, evolutionary theory, taphonomy, paleoecology and zooarchaeology. He has extensive paleontological fieldwork experience in Europe, East Africa, and Asia. His current major research projects include early hominid paleontology at Laetoli in northern Tanzania, phylogenetic relationships and paleobiology of early Miocene catarrhines from East Africa, systematics of Miocene fossil apes from China, and the impact of human hunting and paleoecological change at prehistoric sites in Borneo.
External Affiliations
Director - Center for the Study of Human Origins
Publications
"Isotopic dietary reconstructions of Pliocene herbivores at Laetoli: Implications for hominin paleoecology." Kingston, J. & Harrison T. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 243: 272-306. 2007.
"Neanderthals Revisited: New Approaches and Perspectives." Harvati, K. & Harrison, T. (Editors) Dordrecht: Springer. 2006
"Primate biogeography and ecology on the Sunda Shelf islands: A paleontological and zooarchaeological perspective." Harrison, T., Krigbaum, J. & Manser, J. In Fleagle, J.G. & Lehman, S. (Editors) Primate Biogeography, pp. 323-364. New York: Springer. 2006.
“The zoogeographic and phylogenetic relationships of early catarrhine primates in Asia.” Harrison, T. Anthropological Science 113: 43-51. 2005
“Fossil struthionid eggshells from Laetoli, Tanzania: Their taxonomic and biostratigraphic significance.” Harrison, T. & Msuya, C. Journal of African Earth Sciences. 2005.
“The last common ancestor of apes and humans.” Andrews, P. & Harrison, T. In Lieberman, D. (Editor), American School of Prehistoric Research Monograph Series. 2005
“Late Oligocene to middle Miocene catarrhines from Afro-Arabia.” Harrison, T. In Hartwig, W. (Editor) Primate Fossil Record, pp. 311-338. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 2002.
"On the systematic status of the late Miocene and Pliocene hominoids from Yunnan Province, China." Harrison, T.; Ji, X. & Su, D. Journal of Human Evolution 43: 207-227. 2002.
“Neogene Paleontology of the Manonga Valley, Tanzania: A Window into East African Evolutionary History.” Harrison, T. (Editor) New York: Plenum Press. 1997.
Current News / Projects
Updated July 2009
This year I have continued my active involvement in two major research themes: the paleobiology and evolutionary history of fossil apes and the search for early human ancestors in Africa. My work on hominoid evolution has mainly concentrated on the systematics of Miocene apes from Eurasia and Africa. I am presently working on several collaborative projects relating to Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominoids from China. Last summer, I spent time at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing studying various species of fossil apes, both old and new. Perhaps the most exciting finding was the discovery that Yuanmoupithecus represents the earliest known fossil gibbons. I have been hunting for ancestral gibbons all of my professional life, debunking most of the purported candidates, so I’m especially excited about these new discoveries. Finally, pliopithecids (primitive extinct relatives of Old World monkeys and apes) have been found in increasing numbers in China in recent years, and I am heavily involved in their analysis and description. At the beginning of 2008 I described a new pliopithecid specimen from Inner Mongolia, and I am in the process of redescribing (with Pan Yuerong) the Laccopithecus material from Yunnan, and describing a new genus and species of pliopithecid (with Jin Changzhu) from Anhui Province. I presented preliminary results on the latter species at the AAPA meetings in Chicago.
Other ongoing projects on Miocene primates include a study of the vertebral column of Proconsul (with Bill Sanders), a new look at late Miocene Old World monkeys from the Siwalik Hills (with Eric Delson), major reviews of Miocene East African hominoids and lorisoids (for a edited volume on African fossil mammals edited by Bill Sanders and Lars Werdelin to be published in 2010), and the description of a new species of Miocene apes from East Africa (which will be published later this summer). During the winter recess I visited the National Museum of Uganda in Kampala to study their collections of Miocene apes. This gave me the opportunity to try, with some success, to untangle the controversies that currently surround the taxonomy and evolutionary relationships of Ugandan fossil hominoids. During my stay in Uganda, I took the opportunity to tour the country’s national parks to observe living primates (for a change) and to gain a better appreciation of the diversity of East Africa ecosystems. Climbing the Rwenzori Mountains, paddling to the source of the Nile, standing side-by-side with the chimpanzees in Kibale, and trekking through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest were memorable moments.
I continue to direct paleoanthropological research in East Africa at the famous early hominid site of Laetoli in northern Tanzania. However, I am taking a break from fieldwork this summer to write up the results of the project to date, but I hope to return to Tanzania in 2010. The aims of the Laetoli project are to recover additional remains of early hominids, and to learn more about their paleobiology, paleoecology, and biogeography. We have been fortunate enough to recover several exciting new fossil hominid specimens, and I am working on an account of their anatomy and systematics. The initial phase of the Laetoli project is almost complete, and I am currently editing a two-volume series that will describe the findings. It’s a major editorial undertaking, with more than 50 chapters written by an international team of ecologists, geologists and paleontologists. It is hoped that all of the manuscripts will be completed by the end of the summer, and the two volumes will be published in 2010. More information on my research projects and my latest publications are available on my website http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/anthro/programs/csho/harrison.html.
In addition to my research activities, a good deal of my time is taken up with my editorial and administrative responsibilities. I am an active member of the editorial boards of Journal of Human Evolution and Anthropological Science. In addition, I am the Consulting Editor for Anthropology and Archaeology for the Encyclopedia of Science and Technology and Yearbook of Science and Technology. The 11th edition of the 20-volume Encyclopedia has just been published. I also coordinate the NYCEP program at NYU (for which we received an NSF IGERT award to support graduate training in Evolutionary Primatology) and direct the Center for the Study of Human Origins in the Department of Anthropology (http://www.nyu.edu/gsas/dept/anthro/programs/csho/index.html).
