Humans evolved to travel over a vast diversity of natural terrains, but little is known about how such terrains affect the biomechanics and energetics of human locomotion, or how the body could be adapted to deal with the challenges these terrains pose.  

The Hominin Movement Lab is conducting field-based research on movement in natural environments using inertial measurement units and portable respirometry. We are currently pursuing fieldwork in Peninsular Malaysia with Orang Asli communities to understand how humans are able to move through challenging terrains, such as rainforests, for their livelihood. With this research we hope to understand both musculoskeletal adaptations for locomotion in natural environments, as well as how the energetic costs of moving in these environments affect human ecology. 

Holowka, N. B., Kraft, T. S., Wallace, I. J., Gurven, M., & Venkataraman, V. V. (2022). Forest terrains influence walking kinematics among indigenous Tsimane of the Bolivian Amazon. Evolutionary Human Sciences, 4, e19. DOI: 10.1017/ehs.2022.13