Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism
- Offered byCoursera
Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism at Coursera Overview
Duration | 10 hours |
Start from | Start Now |
Total fee | Free |
Mode of learning | Online |
Official Website | Explore Free Course  |
Credential | Certificate |
Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism at Coursera Highlights
- Earn a certificate from DARTMOUTH
- Add to your LinkedIn profile
- July 2023
- 3 quizzes
Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism at Coursera Course details
- This course will take you through the kinematics of human locomotion including modeling upright walking as a controlled fall, how muscles and bones work together to move individuals using a series of joints and levers, and how the abductor mechanism works to solve the seesaw problem of side-to-side wobbling. You will also understand how paleoanthropologists look for musculoskeletal adaptations in fossils to reconstruct how something in the past moved. You will 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.
Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism at Coursera Curriculum
Module 1: An Overview of Bipedalism and Musculoskeletal Adaptations
Video: Introduction
Video: Kinematics of Walking
Video: Controlled Fall
Video: Skeletons Can't Walk
Video: Abductor Mechanism
Video: Musculoskeletal Adaptations
Video: The Head
Video: The Back
Video: The Pelvis
Video: The Knee
Video: The Foot
Introductory Reading
Syllabus
Book: First Steps: How Upright Walking Made Us Human
Coursera Code of Conduct
Coursera Honor Code
Discussion Tips and Guide
Learning Journal
Overview
Musculoskeletal Adaptations
3D Models: Comparing the Pelvis and Femur in Chimps and Humans
3D Models: Comparing Chimpanzee and Human Feet
Bipedalism and Musculoskeletal Adaptations
Introduce Yourself
Learning Journal: My Goals
Chimp Femur
Human Femur
Chimpanzee Pelvis
Human Female Pelvis
Chimp Foot
Human Foot
Module 2: More About the Mechanics of Bipedalism
Video: Other Bipedal Walkers
Video: Convergent Evolution
Video: Bipedalism in Other Mammals
Video: Bears
Video: Emus
Explore More: Mechanics of Bipedalism
More About the Mechanics of Bipedalism
Discussion
Learning Journal
Module 3: The Origins of Bipedalism and its Evolution
Video: Introduction
Video: An Introduction to Human Evolution
Video: Last Common Ancestor
Video: Science and Human Evolution
Video: Hominins
Video: Earliest Fossil Bipeds
Video: Lucy
Video: Early Fossil Evidence for Bipedalism
Video: Ardipithecus kadabba
Video: Ardipithecus ramidus
Video: Models of Bipedal Origins
Video: A Generalized Ape
Video: Bipedalism in the Trees
Video: Why Bipedalism Evolved
Video: Aggressive Hunters
Video: Chimpanzee Bipedalism
Video: The Mystery Remains
Overview
3D Fossils: Comparing Hominin Skulls
3D Models: Lucy and Laetoli
3D Model: Earliest Evidence for Bipedalism
3D Models: Ardipithecus ramidus
3D Models: Aggressive Hunters
Explore More
The Origins of Bipedalism and its Evolution
Discussion
Learning Journal
Comparing Hominin Skulls: Toumai
Comparing Hominin Skulls: Mrs. Ples
Comparing Hominin Skulls: Homo erectus (D2282)
Comparing Hominin Skulls: La Ferrassie
Comparing Hominin Skulls: Herto Skull
3D Model: Lucy Pelvis Reconstruction
3D Model: Lucy Talus
3D Model: Lucy Talus
3D Model: Lucy Femur
3D Model: Lucy Vertebrae
3D Model: Lucy Distal Tibia
3D Model: Laetoli Footprint
3D Model: Earliest Evidence for Bipedalism
3D Model: Ardi Pelvis
3D Model: Ardi Foot
3D Model: Makapansgat Jaw Tool
3D Model: Makapansgat Tool
3D Model: SK 54
Mechanics & Origins of Bipedalism at Coursera Admission Process
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