Striders, Runners, and Transporters

Abstract

Functional-morphological analyses related to fossil and contemporary hominin locomotion are the focus of this volume. As locomotion is considered a key element in the overall behavior of living primates, allowing them to fulfill such basic needs as avoiding predators, foraging for food, and finding mates, biological anthropologists have generally agreed that it most likely served similar functions in earlier hominins as well. In primates, differing locomotor behaviors and their impact on other biological complexes have produced a diverse range of behavioral and anatomical configurations. In turn, primate locomotion studies are diverse in their scope. Anthropologists interested in hominin locomotion frequently draw on primate and other animal locomotor studies in efforts to understand the complexities associated with the evolution of hominin locomotion. Through comparative analyses on musculo-skeletal structures, positional behavior, and the kinematic and kinetic components of body motion in settings ranging from dissection rooms, laboratories, and in the field, researchers have developed a wide variety of approaches and techniques for investigating the intricacies of locomotor movement in living contemporary hominins and their closest relatives.