Kevin Hatala

he/him

[email protected]

Anthropology

395 Humphrey Center

301 19th Ave S
Minneapolis, MN 55455

Collegiate Affiliation

Anthropology

Links

Personal lab website

Google Scholar page

Educational Background & Specialties

Open Close

Educational Background

PhD: Hominid Paleobiology, The George Washington University
BS: Biological Anthropology and Anatomy, Duke University

Specialties

paleoanthropology
biomechanics
locomotion
functional anatomy

Publications

Open Close

Publications

Hatala KG, Roach NT, Harris JWK, Ndiema EK, Kiura P, Sila B, Kipkebut D, Waweru J, Kisale P, Longaye A, Sale H, Behrensmeyer AK. (2026) Insights into hominin body size, locomotion, and behavior from Early Pleistocene trackways in northern Kenya. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 123, e2530996123.
Hatala KG, Roach NT, Behrensmeyer AK, Falkingham PL, Gatesy SM, Williams-Hatala EM, Feibel CS, Dalacha I, Kirinya M, Linga E, Loki R, Longaye AA, Longaye M, Lonyericho E, Loyapan I, Nakudo N, Nyete C, Leakey LN. (2024) Footprint evidence for locomotor diversity and shared habitats among early Pleistocene hominins. Science 386, 1004-1010.
Hatala KG, Falkingham PL, Manafzadeh, AR, Lusardi EM, Gatesy SM. (2024) A volumetric method for measuring the longitudinal arch of human tracks and feet. American Journal of Biological Anthropology 183, e24897.
Miller CK, McCann RA, Hatala KG, Musiba C, DeSilva JM. (2024) Early hominin movement patterns at Laetoli, northern Tanzania. PaleoAnthropology 2024, 139-147.
Hatala KG, Gatesy SM, Falkingham PL. (2023) Arched footprints preserve the motions of fossil hominin feet. Nature Ecology & Evolution 7, 32-41.
Hatala KG, Roach NT, Behrensmeyer AK. (2023) Fossil footprints and what they mean for hominin paleobiology. Evolutionary Anthropology 32, 39-53.
Zeininger A, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Schmitt D (eds.). (2022) The Evolution of the Primate Foot: Anatomical, Functional, and Paleontological Evidence. Springer International Publishing.
Hatala KG, Boyle EK. (2022) The feet of fossil Homo. In: The Evolution of the Primate Foot: Anatomical, Functional, and Paleontological Evidence, Zeininger AD, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Schmitt DO (eds.), Springer.
Hatala KG, Zeininger A, Schmitt D, Wunderlich RE. (2022) Recent developments and future directions for the study of primate feet. In: The Evolution of the Primate Foot: Anatomical, Functional, and Paleontological Evidence, Zeininger A, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Schmitt D (eds.), Springer.
Zeininger A, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Schmitt D. (2022) Introduction. In: The Evolution of the Primate Foot: Anatomical, Functional, and Paleontological Evidence, Zeininger A, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Schmitt D (eds.), Springer.
McNutt EJ, Hatala KG, Miller C, Adams J, Casana J, Deane AS, Dominy NJ, Fabian K, Fannin LD, Gill SV, Gurtu J, Gustafson E, Hill AC, Johnson C, Kallindo S, Kilham B, Kilham P, Kim E, Liutkus-Pierce C, Maley B, Prabhat A, Reader J, Rubin S, Thompson NE, Thornburg R, Williams-Hatala EM, Zimmer B, Musiba C, DeSilva JM. (2021) Footprint evidence of early hominin locomotor diversity at Laetoli, Tanzania. Nature 600, 468-471.
Hatala KG, Gatesy SM, Falkingham PL. (2021) Integration of biplanar X-ray, 3-D animation, and particle simulation reveals details of human ‘track ontogeny’. Interface Focus 11, 20200075.
Ruff CB, Wunderlich RE, Hatala KG, Tuttle RH, Hilton CE, D’Août K, Webb DM, Hallgrimsson B, Musiba C, Baksh M. (2021) Body mass estimation from footprint size in hominins. Journal of Human Evolution 156, 102997.
Hatala KG, Harcourt-Smith WEH, Gordon AD, Zimmer BW, Richmond BG, Pobiner BL, Green DJ, Metallo A, Rossi V, Liutkus-Pierce CM. (2020) Snapshots of human anatomy, locomotion, and behavior from Late Pleistocene footprints at Engare Sero, Tanzania. Scientific Reports 10, 7740.
Williams-Hatala EM, Hatala KG, Key A, Dunmore CJ, Kasper M, Gordon M, Kivell TL. (2020) Kinetics of stone tool production among novice and expert tool makers. American Journal of Physical Anthropology 174, 714-727.
Wiseman ALA, Stringer C, Ashton N, Bennett MR, Hatala KG, Duffy S, O’Brien T, De Groote I. (2020) The morphological affinity of the early Pleistocene footprints from Happisburgh, England with other tracks of Pliocene, late Pleistocene and Holocene age. Journal of Human Evolution 144, 102776.
Villmoare BA, Hatala KG, Jungers WL. (2019) Sexual dimorphism in Homo erectus inferred from 1.5 Ma footprints near Ileret, Kenya. Scientific Reports 9, 7687.
Hatala KG, Perry DA, Gatesy SM. (2018) A biplanar X-ray approach for studying the 3-D dynamics of human track formation. Journal of Human Evolution 121, 104-118.
Grabowski MW, Hatala KG, Jungers WL. (2018) Body size estimates of the earliest possible hominins and implications for the last common ancestor. Journal of Human Evolution 122, 84-92.
Williams-Hatala EM, Hatala KG, Gordon M, Key A, Kasper M, Kivell TL. (2018) The manual pressures of stone tool behaviors and their implications for the evolution of the human hand. Journal of Human Evolution 119, 14-26.
Du A, Zipkin AM, Hatala KG, Renner E, Baker JL, Bianchi S, Bernal KH, Wood BA. (2018) Pattern and process in hominin brain size evolution are scale-dependent. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 285, 20172738.
Roach NT, Du A, Hatala KG, Ostrofsky K, Reeves J, Braun DR, Harris JWK, Behrensmeyer AK, Richmond BG. (2018) Pleistocene animal communities at a 1.5 million-year-old lake margin grassland and their relationship to Homo erectus paleoecology. Journal of Human Evolution 122, 70-83.
Zimmer B, Liutkus-Pierce C, Marshall S, Hatala KG, Metallo A, Rossi V. (2018) Using Structure-from-Motion photogrammetry to assess erosion at the Engare Sero Footprint Site, Tanzania. Quaternary Science Reviews 198, 226-241.
Falkingham PL, Bates KT, Avanzini M, Bennett M, Bordy E, Breithaupt BH, Castanera D, Citton P, Díaz-Martínez I, Farlow JO, Fiorillo AR, Gatesy SM, Getty P, Hatala KG, Hornung JJ, Hyatt JA, Klein H, Lallensack JN, Martin AJ, Marty D, Matthews NA, Meyer CA, Milàn J, Minter NJ, Razzolini NL, Romilio A, Salisbury SW, Sciscio L, Tanaka I, Wiseman ALA, Xing L, Belvedere M. (2018) A standard protocol for documenting modern and fossil ichnological data. Palaeontology 61, 469-480.
Hatala KG, Roach NT, Ostrofsky KR, Wunderlich RE, Dingwall HL, Villmoare BA, Green DJ, Braun DR, Harris JWK, Behrensmeyer AK, Richmond BG. (2017) Hominin track assemblages from Okote Member deposits near Ileret, Kenya and their implications for understanding fossil hominin paleobiology at 1.5 Ma. Journal of Human Evolution 112, 93-104.
Key AJM, Dunmore CJ, Hatala KG, Williams-Hatala EM. (2017) Flake morphology as a record of manual pressure during stone tool production. Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports 12, 43-53.
Hatala KG, Demes B, Richmond BG. (2016) Laetoli footprints reveal bipedal gait biomechanics different from those of modern humans and chimpanzees. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 283, 20160235.
Hatala KG, Roach NT, Ostrofsky K, Wunderlich RE, Dingwall HL, Villmoare BA, Green DJ, Harris JWK, Braun DR, Richmond BG. (2016) Footprints preserve direct evidence of group behavior and locomotion in Homo erectus. Scientific Reports 6, 28766.
Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Dingwall HL, Richmond BG. (2016) Interpreting locomotor biomechanics from the morphology of human footprints. Journal of Human Evolution 90, 38-48.
Roach NT, Hatala KG, Ostrofsky K, Villmoare BA, Reeves JS, Du A, Braun DR, Harris JWK, Behrensmeyer AK, Richmond BG. (2016) Pleistocene footprints show intensive use of lake margin habitats by Homo erectus groups. Scientific Reports 6, 26374.
Williams-Hatala EM, Hatala KG, Hiles S, Rabey KN. (2016) Morphology of muscle attachment sites in the modern human hand does not reflect muscle architecture. Scientific Reports 6, 28353.
Jungers WL, Grabowski MW, Hatala KG, Richmond BG. (2016) The evolution of body size and shape in the human career. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B 371, 20150247.
Liutkus-Pierce CM, Zimmer BW, Carmichael SK, McIntosh W, Deino A, Hewitt SM, McGinnis KJ, Brett J, Mana S, Deocampo D, Richmond BG, Hatala KG, Harcourt-Smith WEH, Pobiner BL, Metallo A, Rossi V. (2016) Radioisotopic age, formation, and preservation of late Pleistocene Homo sapiens footprints at Engare Sero, Tanzania. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 463, 68-82.
London MR, Hatala KG. (2016) Non-experimental research in anthropology. In: Forensic Science Research and Evaluation Workshop: A discussion on the fundamentals of research design and an evaluation of available literature, Bartick EG, Floyd MA (eds.), US Department of Justice, National Institute of Justice. pp. 23-28.
Grabowski MW, Hatala KG, Jungers WL, Richmond BG. (2015) Body mass estimates of hominin fossils and the evolution of human body size. Journal of Human Evolution 85, 75-93.
Hatala KG, Dingwall HL, Wunderlich RE, Richmond BG. (2013) The relationship between plantar pressure and footprint shape. Journal of Human Evolution 65, 21-28.
Hatala KG, Dingwall HL, Wunderlich RE, Richmond BG. (2013) Variation in foot strike patterns during running among habitually barefoot populations. PLoS One 8(1), e52548
Dingwall HL, Hatala KG, Wunderlich RE, Richmond BG. (2013) Hominin stature, body mass, and walking speed estimates based on 1.5 million-year-old fossil footprints at Ileret, Kenya. Journal of Human Evolution 64, 556-568.
Richmond BG, Hatala KG. (2013) Origin and evolution of human postcranial anatomy. In: A Companion to Paleoanthropology, Begun D (ed.), Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 183-202.

Activities

Open Close

Activities

Professional

Chair of Student Programs, Executive Committee Member, American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2024-27
Associate Chair, Program Committee, American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2023-24
Chair of Paleoanthropology Subcommittee, Program Committee, American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2022-23
Member, Program Committee, American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2021-23
Early Career Liaison to the Executive Committee, American Association of Biological Anthropologists 2019-20

Awards

Open Close

Awards

Turkana Basin Institute Ape and Human Evolution Research Fund grant, Synthesizing tracks, skeletal fossils, and plant fossils to understand the environments and behaviors of early Pleistocene hominins, 2025-27
National Science Foundation CAREER grant, Tracking the evolution of human locomotion through field, experimental, and computational analyses of fossil footprints, 2024-29
RTNN Kickstarter Program grant, CT-based analyses of bone kinematics in the primate foot, 2024-25
Turkana Basin Institute Ape and Human Evolution Research Fund grant, Geological and ecological variation in the Turkana Basin at ~1.5 Ma, 2022-23
National Science Foundation senior research grant, Collaborative Research: X-rays, 3D animation and human locomotion, 2018-23
Leakey Foundation research grant, Paleoecological investigation of 1.5 Ma footprint sites near Nariokotome, Kenya, 2018-19
National Science Foundation, SBE Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, Computer science meets anthropology: a novel approach to reconstructing locomotion from fossil hominin footprints, 2014-16
National Science Foundation, Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant, Fossil footprints and the dynamics of footprint formation: Implications for the evolution of human gait, 2012-14
Wenner-Gren Foundation, Dissertation Fieldwork Grant, A novel experimentally-based investigation of Plio-Pleistocene fossil hominin footprints, 2012-14
The Leakey Foundation, Dissertation Research Grant , Fossil hominin footprints and the dynamics of footprint formation, 2012-14
Evolving Earth Foundation research grant, A snapshot of the anatomy, locomotion, and social behavior of early modern humans as evidenced by fossil footprints at Engare Sero, Tanzania, 2012