The Evolution of Human Physical Activity
Tatum Simonson, UC San Diego School of Medicine
Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University
Access to the live webcast for this symposium will be provided here on Friday, May 14 starting at 12:00 PM (Pacific Time).
There will be two ways to watch on the day of the event:
- using Zoom by visiting https://ucsd.zoom.us/j/91221327557
- visiting this page and clicking on the video player link that will appear above under "Live Symposium Webcast" on event day
This is an online-only event. Please email carta-info@anthropogeny.org with any technical issues. Talks will be recorded by UCSD-TV and posted on this page in the weeks following the event. Follow this event page, as well as CARTA’s Facebook (@ucsdcarta) and Twitter (@CARTAUCSD) accounts for updates.
Summary:
Exercise is well known to provide many health benefits, and human physical activities differ significantly from other species. Although hunter-gatherers sometimes climb and fight, they also walk long distances bipedally (the topic of a previous CARTA symposium) as well as run, dig, throw, carry and more. How, when and why did these capabilities evolve? What genetic, physiological and anatomical adaptations underlie them? And how did the evolution of human physical activity affect other key human characteristics such as enlarged brains, high-quality diets, extended life-history strategies, gene-culture co-evolution and high levels of cooperation? To address these and other related questions, this symposium will integrate research on genetics, biomechanics, physiology, neurobiology and behavior. Because more and more humans today are primarily sedentary, we will also explore implications of the evolution of human physical activity for contemporary health and disease.
Event Sessions
| Session | Speakers |
|---|---|
| The Evolution of Walking and Running | Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University |
| The Evolution of Human Metabolism | Herman Pontzer, Duke University |
| A Human Genetic Mechanism for Endurance Running | Ellen Breen, UC San Diego |
| Genetic Drivers of Human Thermoregulatory Skin Traits | Yana Kamberov, University of Pennsylvania |
| The Rise and Fall of Climbing in Human Evolution | Jandy Hanna, West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine |
| The Anatomical Basis of Aggression in Hominins | David Carrier, University of Utah |
| Evolutionary Links Between Physical Activity and the Brain | David Raichlen, University of Southern California |
| Physical Activity and Women's Reproductive Health | Grazyna Jasienska, Jagiellonian University |
| Human Adaptation to High Altitudes and Aquatic Environments | Tatum Simonson, UC San Diego School of Medicine |
Support Opportunities
- Gifts: We invite you to partner with us in CARTA’s quest to explore and explain the human phenomenon. CARTA connects us all – scientists and philosophers, students and teachers, people with questions and others with answers. The global CARTA community grows with each lecture that is experienced and passed forward via FREE access to UCSD-TV broadcasts and archived videos on multiple websites. Please email khunter@ucsd.edu for support opportunities, which have been modified due to the virtual format.
- Your support helps CARTA preserve the free movement of this information. Your gift to the CARTA Symposium Fund enables these valuable resources to remain free for everyone to attend and access online.
- Insights: We understand that the pandemic has taken a toll on everyone and you may not be in a position to make a monetary contribution at this time. We invite you to please share with us your insight! Your feedback is invaluable in terms of improving our offerings both in impact and reach. Please take a few moments to provide comments in CARTA's Public Feedback Survey.
