As Pilbeam says, "This presents something of a problem for us paleontologists."
However, molecular data is not available for fossils, except in a few cases, and they are all less than a million years old. Soft-part data for fossil organisms is only as good as the hard-part data hat allows one to identify the fossil, or to reconstruct its soft parts. So whether we like it or not, hard-part data -- from bones, teeth, shells, etc. -- is what we have to work with, and we do the best we can with it. [One could argue that Pilbeam presents too extreme an analysis; perhaps the paper could provide a basis for discussion.]
Reference: Pilbeam, D. 2000. Hominoid systematics: the soft evidence. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 97: 10684-10686.
Last updated March 5, 2006.
Links checked September 30, 2005.