  HERMAN PONTZER Asst. Professor, Physical Anthropology Ph.D., Harvard, 2006 314-935-5292 Website hpontzer[at]artsci.wustl.edu |
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| HERMAN PONTZER Asst. Professor, Physical Anthropology Ph.D., Harvard, 2006 314-935-5292 Website hpontzer[at]artsci.wustl.edu |
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I'm interested in linking functional morphology to ecology in mammals, specifically hominoids. How does the musculoskeletal anatomy of an animal reflect its performance, ecological niche, and evolutionary history? My research uses a combined modeling and experimental approach to test hypotheses linking morphology to performance in human and nonhuman primates as well as other terrestrial mammals. My current research focuses primarily on the relationships between limb design, locomotor performance (especially locomotor energetics), and ranging ecology.
I'm also involved in the ongoing excavations in the Lower Paleolithic site of Dmanisi in the Republic of Georgia. Fieldwork there provides an exciting opportunity to apply results from the lab to the fossil record. Dated to 1.8 mya, Dmanisi is a particularly interesting site as it's the earliest evidence of hominids (Homo ergaster) outside of Africa.
Human Energetics and Physiology; The Living Machine: Biomechanics in Terrestrial Animals
Carter, M.L., Pontzer, H., Wrangham, R.W., Kerbis Peterhans, J.
(in press) Skeletal pathology in Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii in Kibale National Park, Uganda. American Journal of Physical Anthropology.
Lordkipanidze, D., Jashashvili, T., Vekua, V., Ponce de Leon, M.S., Zollikofer, C.P.E., Rightmire, G.P., Pontzer, H., Ferring, R., Oms, O., Tappen, M., Bukhsianidze, M., Agusti, J., Kahlke, R., Kiladze, G., Martinez-Navarro, B., Mouskhelishvili, A., Nioradze, M., Rook, L.
(2007) Postcranial evidence from early Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia. Nature. 449, 305-310. [pdf]
Raichlen, D.A., Pontzer, H., Sockol, M.D.
(2007) The Laetoli footprints and early hominin kinematics. Journal of Human Evolution.[pdf]
Sockol, M.D., Raichlen, D.A., Pontzer, H.
(2007) Chimpanzee locomotor energetics and the origin of human bipedalism. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA. 30, 12265-12269. [pdf]
Pontzer, H.
(2007) Limb length and the scaling of locomotor cost in terrestrial animals. Journal of Experimental Biology. 210, 1752-1761. [pdf]
Pontzer, H.
(2007) Predicting the cost of locomotion in terrestrial animals: a test of the LiMb model in humans and quadrupeds. Journal of Experimental Biology 210, 484 - 494. [pdf]
Lieberman, D.E., Raichlen, D.A., Pontzer, H., Bramble, D.M., Cutright-Smith, E.
(2006) The human gluteus maximus muscle and its role in running. Journal of Experimental Biology. 209, 2143 - 2155. [pdf]
Pontzer, H., Wrangham, R.W.
(2006) The ontogeny of ranging in wild chimpanzees. International Journal of Primatology 27:295 - 309.
Pontzer, H., Lieberman, D.E., Momin E., Devlin, M., Polk, J.D., Hallgrimmson, B., Cooper, D.M.L.
(2005) Trabecular bone in the knee responds with high sensitivity to changes in load orientation. Journal of Experimental Biology 209:57-65.
Pontzer, H.
(2005) A new model predicting locomotor cost from limb length via force production. Journal of Experimental Biology 208: 1513-1524.
Pontzer, H., Wrangham R.W.
(2004) Climbing and the daily energy cost of locomotion in wild chimpanzees: Implications for hominoid locomotor evolution. Journal of Human Evolution. 46:315-333.
