The Evolution of Human Physical Activity

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

Media for each talk can be played by clicking on icons in the "Media" column, or by clicking on the individual talk titles below and then the attachment file at the bottom of the page.

Media	Session	Speakers
	Welcome & Opening Remarks	Margaret Schoeninger, University of California, San Diego Daniel Lieberman, Harvard University
	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
	Anthropocise: Anthropogeny Exercises	Pascal Gagneux, University of California, San Diego
	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
	Question & Answer Session and Closing Remarks	All Speakers Ajit Varki, UC San Diego School of Medicine

Event Glossary

A glossary for this event is available as a Searchable List and a PDF.