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SUMMARY:Assessing the locomotor behaviour of early humans using biomechani
 cal modelling - Dr Ashleigh Wiseman (Royal Veterinary College)
DTSTART:20201125T163000Z
DTEND:20201125T173000Z
UID:TALK153589@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Keaghan Yaxley
DESCRIPTION:How did our ancestors walk? Despite 100+ years of fossil evide
 nce\, we still have not solved this conundrum. The ability for humans to w
 alk on two legs is a rare locomotory phenomenon\, not seen in many other s
 pecies\, particularly in our closest relatives (i.e.\, chimpanzees). This 
 phenomenon is considered the most significant adaptation to have occurred 
 in our lineage\, yet understanding the evolution of bipedality is not so s
 traight forward. Fossil limb bones are rare and\, even when found\, tell j
 ust part of the story\, since the soft tissue animates those bones which i
 s lost to us in the fossil record. Fossil footprints tell a more complete 
 story and are more common in the geological record than perhaps once thoug
 ht. They have been found all over the world and offer unique insights into
  the locomotion\, social behaviour and demographics of past life.\n\nDespi
 te 85 years of research since Morton’s seminal work on the foot\, the fu
 nctional anatomy of this unique structure remains elusive. Perhaps the mos
 t fundamental problem is that modern analogue studies investigating locomo
 tory behaviour from footprints all involve flat surfaces\, pressure treadm
 ills\, and/or instrumented walkways. It is\, however\, more likely that ou
 r ancestors walked and ran barefoot on unstable\, uneven and rugged terrai
 n (e.g.\, such as those found on the African savannah – the location of 
 many important hominin fossil discoveries). But is it possible to reconstr
 uct locomotion from footprints using more targeted experiments? And what i
 s the future of reconstructing locomotion from fossils? This talk will dis
 cuss experimental simulations of locomotion of fossils: the past\, the pre
 sent and the future.
LOCATION:Live on Zoom\, pre-registration essential here: bit.ly/2Gcbbou
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