Even as paleoanthropology becomes increasingly sophisticated in revealing both the broad contours and the details of the deep evolutionary history of Homo sapiens, it continues to be informed by lingering pre-evolutionary residues. Specifically, the goal of prior research was to demonstrate that the influence of the ancient Scala Naturae as an organizing principle significantly contributed to the scientific community’s delayed acceptance of Australopithecus (sensu lato) as a plesiomorphic member of the Hominidae. The present study extends this research through a selective examination of non-primary source material reporting on significant early hominid discoveries over the last century, beginning with Australopithecus africanus (1925) and ending with Ardipithecus ramidus (1995/2009). It is argued that these accessible sources reify to varying degrees the perception among the non-expert public that human beings are an inevitable culmination of the evolutionary process. This culturally transmitted schema of human exceptionalism continues to impact other life on Earth in profound ways, in some cases with calamitous results.

中文翻译：

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我们不可避免地：早期的原始发现，大众媒体和人类祖先的复兴。

即使古人类学在揭示智人的广泛轮廓和深层进化史的细节方面变得日趋复杂，它仍会因进化前的残留物而为人所知。具体而言，先前研究的目的是证明古老的斯卡拉自然疗法（Scala Naturae）作为一种组织原理的影响，极大地导致了科学界对南方古猿（sensu lato）作为人形亚型成员的延迟接受。本研究通过选择性检查非原始来源的报道来扩展这项研究，该报道涉及上个世纪以来重要的原始人类发现，始于非洲古猿（1925），以Ardipithecus ramidus（1995/2009）结尾。有人认为，这些可获取的资源在不同程度上证实了非专家公众对人类是进化过程的必然结果的认识。这种人类例外主义的文化传承模式继续以深远的方式影响着地球上的其他生命，在某些情况下甚至产生了灾难性的后果。