COVAROS
COVARiation of long bones in fossil hominins:
ontogeny, functions and evolution
COVAROS aims to test the hypothesis of multiple forms
of hominin bipedalism using paleoanthropological, ontogenetic,
behavioural and biomechanical data.
Responsable
- Guillaume Daver (ISEM, Montpellier)
Type of project
COVAROS is funded by the Région Nouvelle Aquitaine (2024-2029).
Research question
COVAROS is an interdisciplinary project that combines paleoanthropology, primatology, and biomechanics. The project investigates the evolutionary processes that led hominins to adopt habitual bipedalism. Its objectives are to: i) identify the locomotor modes from which hominin bipedalism emerged, and ii) characterize the locomotor and manipulative capabilities of earliest hominins and ancient members of the genus Homo.
Partnership
COVAROS builds on former projects (ANR HOMTECH and LocHoSiM) and benefits from a collaborative network both international and local that associates PALEVOPRIM (University of Poitiers), the zoological parc of “La Vallée des Singes” (dir. J.-P. Guéry) and the paleontological projects in Chad (DUHNE: Document and Understand HominiN Evolution in Chad, F. Guy) and Ethiopia (OGRE: Omo Group Research Expediction, J.R. Boisserie).