CAREER: Tracking the evolution of human locomotion through field, experimental, and computational analyses of fossil footprints

职业：通过对化石足迹的现场、实验和计算分析来跟踪人类运动的演变

• 批准号: 2335894
• 负责人: Kevin Hatala
• 金额: $ 59.3万
• 依托单位: Chatham College
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2024
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2024-05-01 至 2029-04-30
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2335894&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: CAREER; Tracking; evolution; human; locomotion

The shift from quadrupedal to bipedal locomotion, walking on two feet, is at the root of the evolutionary pathway that led to the emergence of humans. To date, many questions regarding the evolution of bipedalism remain unanswered. This CAREER project investigates the evolution of human bipedal walking and running by analyzing fossil footprints through the combined application of field, experimental and computational methods. Training and hands-on experience in paleoanthropological methods are provided to students at different education levels. A new course-based undergraduate research experience (CURE), combined with individually mentored research experiences, provide students with opportunities to directly contribute to the laboratory analyses that are essential to the project. Outreach activities engage community members who live in the immediate vicinity of fossil footprint sites, through an ongoing partnership and the development of a community-led cultural heritage museum. At the beginning of the Quaternary Period three fossil hominin species – Homo erectus, Homo habilis, and Paranthropus boisei were thought to have inhabited the same landscapes. The current consensus is that their cohabitation was enabled by different sets of adaptations, and that Homo erectus was the only one (and the first human ancestor) to use a modern human-like pattern of walking and running. However, the fossil data that can speak to this are limited and the interpretations inconclusive. The field excavations in this project significantly increase the volume of data available to test long-standing hypotheses about the evolution of human bipedalism. Through laboratory experiments, new analytical methods are developed to relate footprint morphology to foot morphology and biomechanics, allowing for detailed understandings of fossil human locomotion. The project also advances methods for finding, excavating, and analyzing fossil footprints, opening new avenues for these data to address major questions in human evolution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

从两英尺上行走的四足动物到两英尺运动的转变是导致人类出现的进化途径的根源。迄今为止，关于两性主义进化的许多问题仍未得到答复。这个职业项目通过通过现场，实验和计算方法的联合应用来分析化石足迹，调查了人类两足步行和运行的演变。向不同教育水平的学生提供了古人类学方法方面的培训和动手经验。新的基于课程的本科研究经验（CURE），再加上单独指导的研究经验，为学生提供了直接为项目必不可少的实验室分析做出贡献的机会。通过持续的伙伴关系和社区主导的文化遗产博物馆的发展，外展活动与生活在化石足迹站点附近的社区成员与社区成员的活动。在第四纪开始时，人们认为三种化石人类种类 - homo habilis和boisei paranthropus boisei被认为居住在相同的景观中。目前的共识是，它们的同居是通过不同的改编组来实现的，而HOMO ERECTUS是唯一使用现代人类行走和跑步模式的人（也是第一个人类祖先）。但是，可以说明这一点的化石数据是有限的，并且解释尚无定论。该项目中的场地发掘大大增加了可用的数据量，以测试有关人类两性主义进化的长期假设。通过实验室实验，开发了新的分析方法，以将足迹形态与足部形态和生物力学联系起来，从而详细了解化石人类运动。该项目还推动了寻找，发掘和分析化石足迹的方法，开辟了这些数据的新途径，以解决人类进化中的主要问题。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并被认为是通过基金会的知识分子和更广泛影响的评估标准通过评估来获得的支持。