Canine Teeth: Notes on Controversies in the Study of Human Evolution 1

Abstract

The synthetic theory of evolution requires the reconstruction of the behaviors of past populations, and such reconstruction cannot be neatly packaged. In this situation the primitive systems of the brain will find support for the opposite sides of almost any question. As individuals, we have the need to feel that what we do is “real, true, and important” and this has a profound influence on our supposedly scientific attitudes. At the present time no theory of the evolution of the canine complex is fully adequate. Futile debate comes from the illusion of scientific proof and from the emotional needs of contesting individuals.