Miocene Hominoid PaleobiologySteven C. Ward, Ph.D.Professor and Chairperson
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Northeastern Ohio Universities |  |
Education:
| 1974 | Ph.D. | Anthropology, Washington University, St. Louis, MO |
| 1970 | B.A. | Anthropology/Zoology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA |
Professional Experience:
| 1991-present | Professor and Chairperson, Department of Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine |
| 1989-1991 | Professor, Anthropology, Kent State University, and Professor, Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine |
| 1987-1988 | Visiting Associate Professor, Anthropology, Harvard University |
| 1984-1985 | Visiting Associate Professor, Anthropology and Anatomy, Harvard University |
| 1983-1989 | Associate Professor, Anthropology, Kent State University, and Associate Professor, Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine |
| 1981-1982 | Visiting Assitant Professor, Anthropology and Anatomy, Harvard University |
| 1977-1982 | Assistant Professor, Anthropology, Kent State University, and Assistant Professor, Anatomy, Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine |
| 1974-1977 | Assistant Professor, Anatomy, Washington University School of Dental Medicine |
Graduate Faculty Status:
Full member, Biological Anthropology Program, School of Biomedical Sciences, Kent State University
Research Interests:
My primary research interests focus on the evolutionary history of Miocene hominoids. Currently active projects include an analysis of a partial skeleton attributable to the middle Miocene taxon Kenyapithecus. This specimen was recovered in the Tugen Hills of the central Kenya rift valley by the Baringo Paleontological Project under the direction of Professor Andrew Hill at Yale University. When comparative anatomical and biomechanical analysis of the skeleton is complete, we will have a refined understanding of the locmotor behavior and substrate prefrences of this important Miocene hominoid genus. Other work in progress includes an assessment of dental and gnathic variation in the south Asian middle-late Miocene genus Sivapithecus, and a comparative analysis of paranasal pneumatic patterns in Miocene hominoids from time of their emergence in the early Miocene through the appearance of the modern great apes.
Selected Publications:
- Hill, A., S. C. Ward and B. Brown. Anatomy and age of the Lothagam mandible. J. Human Evol. 22:39-451 (1992).
- McCollum M., S. C. Ward, W. H. Kimbel and F. E. Grine. Subnasal morphology of early hominids. J. Human Evol. 24:87-111 (1992).
- Walker, A., B. Brown and S. C. Ward. The squamosal suture of cranium KNM-WT 17000. Am. J. Phys. Anthropol. 90:501-505 (1993).
- Kelley, J., M. Anwar, M. A. McCollum and S. C. Ward. The anterior dentition of Sivapithecus parvada, with comments on the phylogenetic significance of incisor heteromorphy in hominoidea. Journal of Human Evolution. 28:503-517 (1995).
- Ward, S .C. The taxonomy and phylogenetic relationships of Sivapithecus revisited. In Begun, D. R., C. V. Ward and M. D. Rose (eds) Function, Phylogeny, and Fossils: Miocene Hominoid Evolution and Adaptations. Plenum, New York, pp. 269-290 (1997).
- Ward, S., Brown, B., Hill, A., Kelley, J., and W. Downs. Equatorius: A new hominoid genus from the middle Miocene of Kenya. Science 285: 1382-1386 (1999).
