Like every other organism on the planet, humans evolved over thousands of years to survive and thrive under rather specific circumstances. But what exactly is the human body adapted for? The evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman poses and attempts to answer that question in a new book. Lieberman says the human body is in many ways a Stone Age creation, better suited to the demands of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle than to 9-to-5 office work. He’ll join us Tuesday to explore the story of the human body.
Daniel Lieberman will be in Salt Lake City later this week for an event as part of the Utah Humanities Book Festival, which is unfortunately sold out. You can however, join Dr. Lieberman, one of the leading proponents of barefoot running, this Friday, October 4, at 7:30 in the morning for a non-competitive 4 kilometer trail run along the Bonneville Shoreline Trail south of the Natural History Museum of Utah. Runners can wear as little or as much footwear as they like. Dr. Lieberman will give a brief overview of his research on barefoot running before hitting the trail. Registration is required. More details.
GUEST
Daniel Lieberman is a professor of human evolutionary biology and the Edwin M. Lerner II Professor of Biological Science at Harvard University. He has written more than a hundred articles, many of which have appeared in the journals Nature and Science. His new book is called The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health and Disease [Amazon|Indiebound].
