This course will help you learn how fossils give us an insight into how the early members of our lineage walked bipedally. The four million years old bone of Australopithecus anamensis is the oldest undisputed evidence for bipedalism in our lineage. Similarly, Lucy’s, who was Australopithecus afarensis, fossil also helped scientists discover a lot about how bipedalism evolved over time. You will also explore bipedal variations in humans. From its earliest version to its modern form—how humans learned to walk, is an interesting story. Similarly how a human being learns to walk, from a toddler’s first footstep to an adult human being’s walk and its variations would also be discussed in this course. You will also understand that while bipedalism has its advantages, it has its adverse effects on humans too from a musculoskeletal point of view.
Experiments and Variations in Bipedalism
This course is part of Bipedalism: The Science of Upright Walking Specialization
Instructor: Jeremy DeSilva
Included with
Details to know
Add to your LinkedIn profile
7 assignments
See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills
Build your subject-matter expertise
- Learn new concepts from industry experts
- Gain a foundational understanding of a subject or tool
- Develop job-relevant skills with hands-on projects
- Earn a shareable career certificate
Earn a career certificate
Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV
Share it on social media and in your performance review
There are 4 modules in this course
This module explores bipedal variations in humans and why different forms of bipedal walking may have evolved.
What's included
13 videos16 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts25 plugins
This module explores the benefits of bipedal locomotion. It also discusses how the early hominin species such as Homo erectus and Homo naledi used to walk.
What's included
6 videos5 readings1 assignment2 discussion prompts12 plugins
This module provides an introduction to how children learn to walk and how that varies across cultures. This also talks about the difference between running and walking and the adaptations for running.
What's included
11 videos3 readings3 assignments2 discussion prompts3 plugins
This module explores the downsides of bipedalism and the anatomical trade-offs that result from our evolutionary history of upright walking.
What's included
11 videos7 readings2 assignments2 discussion prompts16 plugins
Instructor
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Basic Science
University of Colorado Boulder
Yale University
University of Alberta
Emory University
Why people choose Coursera for their career
New to Basic Science? Start here.
Open new doors with Coursera Plus
Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription
Advance your career with an online degree
Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online
Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business
Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy
Frequently asked questions
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. Your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
If you subscribed, you get a 7-day free trial during which you can cancel at no penalty. After that, we don’t give refunds, but you can cancel your subscription at any time. See our full refund policy.