Adaptation and Locomotion: Drivers of Evolution
From The Observatory
Date
June 26, 2026
Location
Paléosite
Area
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The morphology of our skeleton is both the product of our ancestors' heritage and a reflection of our personal history. Throughout our lives, our bones are shaped by environmental constraints, everyday actions, and the movements we make. In this conference, we will see how the long bones of the limbs (femur, tibia, humerus) record this history, and how their study makes it possible to reconstruct not only the profiles of individuals (stature, body mass) but also their behaviors and movement habits. These approaches, when applied to fossils, therefore offer a unique window into the identities and lifestyles of individuals who lived thousands, even millions, of years ago. Through multiple examples, we will show how paleoanthropologists rely on these analyses to distinguish among fossils and propose hypotheses about their locomotor behaviors. In particular, we will see how the study of the skeleton makes it possible to trace the emergence and evolution of bipedalism, a characteristic that largely contributed to the evolutionary success of our ancestors.
Key Speaker: Quentin Cosnefroy
Participants
Paléosite
Host, Organizer | Homepage
Neither a traditional museum nor a theme park, the Paleosite of Saint-Césaire is a unique museum space associated with an interpretation center dedicated to Neanderthals. Located near a major archaeological site, it is a place designed to help people understand, explore, and experience prehistory through immersive experiences and activities accessible to all.
