Vicon Standard 2012
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The <strong>Standard</strong><br />
<strong>2012</strong><br />
<strong>Vicon</strong> Life Sciences<br />
STANDING<br />
ON TWO FEET<br />
Researchers at George Washington University are<br />
collecting data on fossilized human footprints to discover<br />
the evolutionary secret behind human bipedalism<br />
Credit<br />
Courtesy of<br />
George Washington<br />
University<br />
Dr. Brian Richmond and Kevin<br />
Hatala at George Washington<br />
University are studying how<br />
particular anatomical and<br />
functional variables influence<br />
our locomotion. They hope to<br />
develop a hypothesis about<br />
how our ancestors, whose<br />
anatomies were slightly<br />
different than our own, may<br />
have moved in a similar or<br />
different manner.<br />
Hatala said, “Our research focuses<br />
on understanding the evolution<br />
of human bipedal locomotion. In<br />
order to address questions about<br />
how human locomotion has<br />
evolved, we need to quantify the<br />
kinematics of human bipedalism.”<br />
Richmond and Hatala conduct<br />
many of their biomechanical<br />
experiments in the field, near<br />
Lake Turkana in northern Kenya,<br />
gathering data on people who<br />
grow up habitually unshod (not<br />
wearing shoes). As such, the<br />
development of their foot<br />
anatomy and function has not<br />
been influenced by modern<br />
footwear. This condition likely<br />
provides the best approximation<br />
of foot anatomy and function in<br />
our evolutionary ancestors, who<br />
most likely did not wear footwear<br />
until recently (the past 50,000<br />
years or so).<br />
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