Human evolutionary studies have traditionally focused on teeth and cranial remains due to their preservation and potential for species identification, often overlooking the postcranial skeleton's significance in understanding behavioral and social aspects in our ancestors. However, recent years have witnessed a rise in research on the postcranial skeleton, leveraging diverse methodological approaches, particularly virtual anatomy techniques like biomechanical modeling and form-function analysis in primates and fossil specimens.
The symposium "From Anatomy to Behavior - Challenges and Solutions in Studying Hominin Postcranial Evolution" aims to bridge this gap by bringing together researchers developing novel methods to address key challenges and explore new perspectives.
Join us for this exciting event at the Henry Wellcome Building, where experts will discuss how anatomical features connect to behavior in our evolutionary past. The event will also be available online—email ma2137@cam.ac.uk or ja807@cam.ac.uk for the link. Please book your space on Eventbrite.
Please note that food and drinks are not included.
Programme
Day 1: January 16th, 2025
14:00: Coffee and tea reception
14:30: Keynote Address by Dr. Emma Pomeroy (University of Cambridge) More than just ‘post-crania’: the potential and challenges of studying ‘the rest’ of the skeleton
15:30: Presentation by Dr. Mikel Arlegi (University of Cambridge) Deciphering the covariation of the cranio-cervical complex in anthropoid primates to understand hominin body posture
16:00: Presentation by Dr. Amélie Beaudet (CNRS, Université Poitiers) Integrating outer and inner morphology of fossil primate postcranial remains
16:30: Presentation by Dr. Nicole Torres-Tamayo (Universität Zürich) A novel approach based on Statistical Shape modelling and Gaussian Processes to predict the missing pelvic morphologies in the fossil record.
18:30: Dinner with speakers
Day 2: January 17th, 2025
9:00: Coffee and tea reception
10:00: Presentation by Dr. Ameline Bardo (Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle Paris) Investigating 3D motion of human hand bones during Palaeolithic tool behaviours to better understand the functional morphology of fossil hands
10:30: Presentation by Dr. Alexandros Karakostis (Universität Tübingen) "New solutions for old challenges": Developing experimentally supported approaches for reconstructing physical activity
11:00: Presentation by Dr. Zewdi Tsegai (University of Chicago) Advances and challenges in our understanding of skeletal ontogeny in palaeoanthropology
11:30: Presentation by Dr. Thomas Püschel (University of Oxford) Inferring hominin locomotor repertoires using machine-learning regression algorithms
12:00: Lunch break
13:30: Presentation by Dr. Marine Cazenave (Max Planck Institute) Challenges and perspectives in reconstructing past behaviours in the context of an increasing taxonomic and morphological diversity in Plio-Pleistocene hominins
14:00: Presentation by Dr. Antonio Profico (Università di Pisa) From bones to bytes: reconstructing past physical behavior with computational anatomy and virtual anthropology
14:30: Presentation by Dr. Julia Aramendi (University of Cambridge) Limb morphology revisited - Novel approaches to studying fragmentary hominin long bone remains
15:00: Coffee and tea reception
15:30 - 17:00: Round table discussion