Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism (Coursera)

You will also understand how paleoanthropologists look for musculoskeletal adaptations in fossils to reconstruct how something in the past moved. You’ll explore how musculoskeletal adaptations correlate with bipedalism, as well as what significance these clues hold for telling us about how hominins moved. Additionally, you will learn the kinematics of other habitual striding bipeds found in the animal kingdom.

Every module of this course has been created with the intention of a “hands-on” learner experience, where you can play around with and learn from 3D renditions of different human and animal fossils. Through these exercises, you will be able to observe and describe animal behavior in order to explain the function of their locomotion and how that relates to our own.

This course is part of the Bipedalism: The Science of Upright Walking Specialization.

Syllabus

Module 1: An Overview of Bipedalism and Musculoskeletal Adaptations

This module provides an introduction to the kinematics of human locomotion and the musculoskeletal adaptations for bipedalism.

Module 2: More About the Mechanics of Bipedalism

This module explores how other bipedal walkers move uniquely.

Module 3: The Origins of Bipedalism and its Evolution

This module provides an overview of human evolution and explores the origin of bipedalism.