Please note that UConn did not include Homo rudolfensis or Homo ergaster. Therefore, both Tattersall and UConn are, in essence, talking about the same species. Will respond to second Feature Article in next message. Katlin Katlin used some jargon that some of our readers might not be familiar with. Lumpers and splitters refer to how some people classify fossils.
Some people like to lump similar fossils together into a single category.
Others like to split fossils into several different categories if they feel there are sufficient differences to warrant it. Katlin is admitting that classification of hominid fossils is entirely subjective. In other words, it is a matter of opinion. It is basically philosophical. A debate over whether it is more useful to group as many fossils as possible into a single category than to create as many different categories as possible might be won by whichever side happened to have the best debater.