Ralph Holloway
Encyclopedia
Ralph Leslie Holloway, Jr. (born 1935) is a physical anthropologist at Columbia University
and research associate with the American Museum of Natural History
. Since obtaining his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkley in 1964, Holloway has served as a professor of anthropology
at Columbia. Holloway's interests lie in craniology, producing endocast
s, primate behavior, biology of gender
, sexual dimorphism
in the corpus callosum
, and other topics.
Holloway's work on the Taung Child
was one of the first to suggest brain reorganization occurring before the increase of brain size in hominids. His claim that the lunate sulcus, a sulcus which marks the boundary of the occipital lobe, was in a posterior position to that of apes suggests that the reduction of the occipital lobe was accompanied by enlargements of parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive function.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and research associate with the American Museum of Natural History
American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History , located on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, United States, is one of the largest and most celebrated museums in the world...
. Since obtaining his Ph.D from the University of California, Berkley in 1964, Holloway has served as a professor of anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
at Columbia. Holloway's interests lie in craniology, producing endocast
Endocast
An endocast is the internal cast of a hollow object, often specifically used for an endocasts of the cranial vault. Endocasts can be man-made for examining the properties of a hollow, inaccessible space, or occur naturally through fossilisation....
s, primate behavior, biology of gender
Biology of gender
Biology of gender can have different meanings, depending on the meaning of gender.* In medicine and biology it usually refers to the biology of sexual dimorphism, e.g...
, sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
in the corpus callosum
Corpus callosum
The corpus callosum , also known as the colossal commissure, is a wide, flat bundle of neural fibers beneath the cortex in the eutherian brain at the longitudinal fissure. It connects the left and right cerebral hemispheres and facilitates interhemispheric communication...
, and other topics.
Holloway's work on the Taung Child
Taung Child
The Taung Child — or Taung Baby — is the fossilized skull of a young Australopithecus africanus individual. It was discovered in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime Company in Taung, South Africa...
was one of the first to suggest brain reorganization occurring before the increase of brain size in hominids. His claim that the lunate sulcus, a sulcus which marks the boundary of the occipital lobe, was in a posterior position to that of apes suggests that the reduction of the occipital lobe was accompanied by enlargements of parts of the brain associated with higher cognitive function.