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Walking & Running
HEB 80

Course Information

Description

This course explores two of the most essential questions in human evolution: how and why did our unique bipedal walking and running gaits evolve? The course combines the fields of quantitative locomotion biomechanics and paleoanthropology to address these questions. Students will learn about the common mechanical models used to describe human walking and running, with an eye towards defining what "human bipedalism" is in comparison to ape bipedalism. They will also learn about the key fossils that provide evidence of locomotion evolution, and will assess the fossils using the lens of locomotion biomechanics to understand when the key aspects of our gaits evolved. Finally, we will weave these two fields together to understand the big picture of hominin locomotion ecology, and how locomotion related to the lifestyle of our ancestors and our modern selves.

Class Notes

Labs will be 75 minutes and scheduled after registration.

School Faculty of Arts & Sciences
Credits 4
Cross Reg

Available for Harvard Cross Registration

Course Component Lecture
Grading Basis FAS Letter Graded
General Education N/A
Quantitative Reasoning with Data N/A
Divisional Distribution Science & Engineering & Applied Science
Course Level Primarily for Undergraduate Students