Hominid
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by RobSmith (talk | contribs) at 16:39, May 15, 2007. It may differ significantly from current revision.
The term hominid has two common definitions.
- It can, colloquially, refer to a prehistoric cave man, as well as a modern human.
- In taxonomy, it can refer to humans, as well as the great apes, including gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and their evolutionary ancestors.
The first definition is similar to what is found in common dictionaries.[1] It is also commonly used by scientists to refer to human ancestors and closely related species like Neanderthals.[2]
The second definition is preferred by biologists; as per the Linnaean System of Classification, it groups the organisms together by their ancestry.