Happy to release episode 1 of “Running for Science: Science for Running.” This episode – You have to walk before you can run – features Dartmouth anthropologist, Jeremy DeSilva. Jerry is a good friend I have known since graduate school, but he is also one of the world’s leading experts on the evolution of the hominin lower limb, having worked with some of the earliest Pliocene fossils from Ethiopia, Kenya, and more recent discoveries from South Africa.
He recently co-edited a special issue of the journal Paleoanthropology focused on the remains of Australopithecus sediba from the site of Malapa, South Africa. Paleoanthropology is an open-access, online journal, so you can check out the entire issue here (http://www.paleoanthro.org/journal/volumes/2018/).
This episode should be going up on iTunes shortly, thus making it accessible for download and playback at your convenience. I’ll update the post when it is live on iTunes. In the meantime, it is hosted on Soundcloud or available to stream in your browser here.
Jerry and I cover some of the big picture issues surrounding the place of bipedality in our evolutionary past. This interactive timeline from the Smithsonian will be helpful if you are new to human evolution. Another valuable reference is eskeletons.org, which allows you to compare skeletal anatomy across a range of primates, including humans.
Human – Chimpanzee comparison. Images courtesy of eskeletons.org.
As a reminder, this podcast is produced as part of a fundraising effort to support the Boston Museum of Science and its traveling education programs. If you enjoy the content, please consider supporting the podcast and supporting me, by donating on my behalf.
