Al-Imam A. Methods of Studying the Social Structure of Early Hominins: A Mini Review. Int J Anat Appl Physiol. 2017;3(2):69-73. 69 OPEN ACCESS https://scidoc.org/IJAAP.php International Journal of Anatomy & Applied Physiology (IJAAP) ISSN 2572-7451 Methods of Studying the Social Structure of Early Hominins: A Mini Review Review Article Al-Imam A * Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, College of Medicine University of Baghdad, Iraq. Background Hominidae includes the great apes; chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, gorillas, and humans. Formerly, humans, both extinct and extant, were placed in Hominidae, while great apes were put in a different family, Pongidae family [1, 2]. Despite the presence of landmark physiological differences in between humans and great apes, for example, the relative longer reproductive life span in chimpanzees females, both morphological and molecular studies confrmed that humans and chimpanzees are closely related and interlinked by a common ancestor at approximately six million years ago (Mya) [1-3]. Nevertheless, it is agreed that some traits are unique for human, these are; imitation, language and verbal skills, obligate bipedal locomotion, stable supine posture, and imagination [4-6]. The social structure of early hominin cannot be easily inferred as in the case of physical anthropology and archaeology. Hence, anthropologists use three main methods to infer data in relation to the social fabric of early hominins. Those methods include; nonhuman primate models, phylogenetic history, and behavioural ecology principles [7-10]. The landmark paper by Foley and Lee [11], discussed the presence of 32 core social systems in hominids (Figure 1); the classifcation is based on the status of male and female distribution, and the strength of male-female association [11]. Non-human Primate Models Modelling based on non-human primates is regarded as the archetype approach for social structure studies. The social- marital structure in apes can be diverse, for example; monogamy (Gibbons), uni-male polygyny (Orangutan), uni-male polygyny (gorilla), and multi-male polygyny (chimpanzee). Although the savannah baboon monkeys are distantly related to hominins, they do have a profoundly similar social structure to early hominins due to the similar nature of their environments, which is represented by the open terrains of the Savannah [1]. The chimpanzee was also proposed as a model for studying the social structure in early hominins; chimpanzees share a common ancestry with early hominins; chimps may also use tools and hunt occasionally. However, chimpanzees are extant (living) models, and they differ anatomically from early hominins, for example, the different facial and dental anatomy when compared to the Australopithecines (afarensis, robustus, and africanus). Hence, the extinct hominins behavioural and social patterns would also be different from those of the chimpanzees [1, 12, 13]. In 1978, the pygmy chimpanzee known as bonobos (Pan paniscus) became an adopted model; it *Corresponding Author: Dr. Ahmed Al-Imam Department of Anatomy and Cellular Biology, College of Medicine University of Baghdad, Iraq. E-mail: tesla1452@gmail.com Received: July 24, 2017 Accepted: August 29, 2017 Published: August 31, 2017 Citation: Al-Imam A. Methods of Studying the Social Structure of Early Hominins: A Mini Review. Int J Anat Appl Physiol. 2017;3(2):69-73. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.19070/2572-7451-1700011 Copyright: Al-Imam A © 2017. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Abstract There has been numerous attempts by anthropologists and paleoanthropologist to study the social structure of early homi- nins, many of these were based on three main modalities of research; non-human primate models, behavioural ecology, and phylogenetic models. Non-human primate models are considered as the archetypal analytic approach of social structure. On the other hand, behavioural ecology emphasises on the shared behavioural patterns in between our specie, the early hominin species, and the species of African apes. The 3rd approach, the phylogenetic modelling, is considered to be the most novel method; It relies on the analysis of phylogenetic constraints in a particular ecosystem; which seems to enforce a specifc type of social structure; it represents a responsive interaction between the; environment, evolutionary biology, and ultimately the social fabric. Keywords: Social Sciences; Social Environment; Ecology; Primates; Hominidae; Hominins; Humans; Biological Evolu- tion; Cultural Evolution.