Dissertation Research: Functional Morphology of the Hominoid Back

这项研究的主要目的是理解和解释在我们的祖先向两足动物过渡的过程中，人类背部发生的解剖学变化。这是人类学家非常感兴趣的一个生物学问题，其结果将直接关系到重建运动行为和化石记录中向两足动物的转变。解决这个问题的第一步将是对猿背部的肌肉骨骼解剖结构进行彻底的描述，并分析其在运动中的功能。拟议的研究将结合(1)对人类、类人猿和其他选定的灵长类动物的下胸椎和腰椎区域进行骨测量比较；(2)同一物种中该区域肌肉的比较解剖；(3)对几种动物脊柱运动的x线摄影分析，使功能假设得到更客观的验证。人类学家目前对我们的前两足祖先可能具有的姿势和运动特征以及化石记录中对完全现代两足动物的识别存在分歧。这项研究的结果将有助于我们对现存猿类运动分析和功能的了解，并确定几种灵长类动物直立姿势的解剖学相关性。此外，它应该对未来理解人类两足动物的起源有价值。

The primary objective of this research is to understand and interpret the anatomical changes that took place in the human back during the transition to bipedalism among our ancestors. This is a biological problem of considerble interest to anthropologists and the results will be directly relevant to reconstructing locomotor behavior and the transformation to bipedality in the fossil record. The first step in solving this problem will be to conduct a thorough description of the musculoskeletal anatomy of the back of apes and an analysis of its function in locomotion. The proposed study will combine (1) osteometric comparision of the lower thoracic and lumbar regions of the back among humans, apes, and other selected primates; (2) comparative dissections of the muscles of this region in the same species; and, (3) cineradiographic analysis of the movements of the vertebral column in several species, so that functional hypotheses can be verified more objectively. Anthropologists currently disagree on both the posture and locomotion that likely characterized our prebipedal ancestor and on the identification of fully modern bipedality in the fossil record. The results of this study will contribute to our knowledge of locomotor analysis and function in the living apes, and identify anatomical correlates to upright posture in several types of primates. Moreover, it should prove valuable to future understanding of the origin of human bipedalism.