Primate Biomechanics

Undergraduate

This course is an introduction to the physical principles and musculoskeletal anatomies that underlie primate behavior, including especially primate locomotion and diet. We will study basic mechanics, bone biology, soft tissue and skeletal anatomy, primate behavioral diversity, and the primate fossil record in order to address why bones are shaped the way they are, and how scientists reconstruct behavior from fossils. Emphasis will be on primate locomotion, including the origins and evolution of human bipedalism.