Terrestrial Mobility Research Articles

A Study on the Terrestrial Mobility of a Spherical Amphibian Robot

A Study on the Terrestrial Mobility of a Spherical Amphibian Robot

Development of novel magnetorheological dampers with low-speed sensitivity for flying car suspensions

As urban traffic environments continue to grow in complexity, there is an urgent need for a versatile mode of transportation that seamlessly transitions between terrestrial and aerial mobility. In conventional magnetorheological damper (CMRD), the magnetorheological fluid flowing through the narrow annular gap between the piston and cylinder in CMRD results in a damping force directly proportional to velocity. As velocity increases, the damping force rises sharply, posing a significant risk to the vehicle’s mechanical structure and passenger safety. This velocity sensitivity restricts their applications primarily to standard commercial vehicle suspension systems. They face significant challenges when it comes to high-speed impact scenarios. To overcome this limitation, enhance the shock-absorbing capacity of flying cars, ensure passenger safety, and improve passenger comfort during the landing phase, this study introduces a novel magnetorheological damper (NMRD) with unique internal channel structure embedded in a circular permanent magnet. In road travel mode, NMRD maintains a wide dynamic range. During high-speed impact landing, when the impact force exceeds the threshold, the pressure relief channel opens, effectively reducing the peak impact force. This feature greatly expands the application range of magnetorheological dampers. The researches included simulations of the electromagnetic induction phenomenon within the piston, The pressure relief damping force inside the NMRD valve was accurately measured by using material testing system, the peak force and peak acceleration experienced by the two dampers during impact were tested using a dedicated drop hammer apparatus. These tests demonstrate that the NMRD exhibits superior impact resistance performance compared to CMRD. This highlights the promising potential for the NMRD’s application within the suspension systems of flying cars.

A comparative approach to GIS modelling of terrestrial mobility in archaeological sites. The iron age hillfort of Villasviejas del Tamuja as a study case

The archaeological analysis of Historical mobility is an increasingly studied topic thanks to new geographic information technologies. This paper proposes a modelling exercise of the spatial behaviour of a Second Iron Age community in the Middle Tagus Valley: the hillfort of Villasviejas del Tamuja (Botija, Cáceres). Based on our knowledge of the configuration of the site and the surrounding settlements, we propose a heuristic use of a series of GIS tools to understand how the spatial relationship between both elements was structured. More specifically, we compare the results obtained with different calculation methods that combine two essential variables to address this issue: mobility and visibility relations. On the one hand, we evaluate the results with the application of an already developed methodology: the MADO analysis. On the other hand, we present a complementary procedure for the calculation of Least Cost Paths (LCP), considering the visibility as a key element in the mobility. The methodology uses the same data, in a paradigmatic case study for comparing results. The differences obtained through the use of different tools are thus evaluated in order to weigh up the additional or complementary knowledge that they can provide us with to investigate archaeological research questions such as the defensive architecture of the hillfort or the distribution of other nearby settlements.

Maneuverable and Efficient Locomotion of a Myriapod Robot with Variable Body-Axis Flexibility via Instability and Bifurcation.

Legged robots have remarkable terrestrial mobility, but are susceptible to falling and leg malfunction during locomotion. The use of a large number of legs, as in centipedes, can overcome these problems, but it makes the body long and leads to many legs being constrained to contact with the ground to support the long body, which impedes maneuverability. A mechanism for maneuverable locomotion using a large number legs is thus desirable. However, controlling a long body with a large number of legs requires huge computational and energy costs. Inspired by agile locomotion in biological systems, this study proposes a control strategy for maneuverable and efficient locomotion of a myriapod robot based on dynamic instability. Specifically, our previous study made the body axis of a 12-legged robot flexible and showed that changing the body-axis flexibility produces pitchfork bifurcation. The bifurcation not only induces the dynamic instability of a straight walk but also a transition to a curved walk, whose curvature is controllable by the body-axis flexibility. This study incorporated a variable stiffness mechanism into the body axis and developed a simple control strategy based on the bifurcation characteristics. With this strategy, maneuverable and autonomous locomotion was achieved, as demonstrated by multiple robot experiments. Our approach does not directly control the movement of the body axis; instead, it controls body-axis flexibility, which significantly reduces computational and energy costs. This study provides a new design principle for maneuverable and efficient locomotion of myriapod robots.

Advanced Turning Maneuver of a Many-Legged Robot Using Pitchfork Bifurcation

Legged robots have excellent terrestrial mobility for traversing diverse environments and thus have the potential to be deployed in a wide variety of scenarios. However, they are susceptible to falling and leg malfunction during locomotion. Although the use of a large number of legs can overcome these problems, it makes the body long and leads to many legs being constrained to contact with the ground to support the long body, which impedes maneuverability. To improve the locomotion maneuverability of such robots, the present study focuses on dynamic instability, which induces rapid and large movement changes, and uses a 12-legged robot with a flexible body axis. Our previous work found that the straight walk of the robot becomes unstable through Hopf bifurcation when the body axis flexibility is changed, which induces body undulations. Furthermore, we developed a simple controller based on the Hopf bifurcation and showed that the instability facilitates the turning of the robot. In this study, we newly found that the straight walk becomes unstable through pitchfork bifurcation when the body-axis flexibility is changed in a way different from that in our previous work. In addition, the pitchfork bifurcation induces a transition into a curved walk, whose curvature can be controlled by the body-axis flexibility. We developed a simple controller based on the pitchfork-bifurcation characteristics and demonstrated that the robot can perform a turning maneuver superior to that with the previous controller. This study provides a novel design principle for maneuverable locomotion of many-legged robots using intrinsic dynamic properties.

EL ENTIERRO INDIVIDUAL “FERRADEIRA” DE HERDADE DO ÁLAMO (BEJA): FACETAS DEL CAMBIO SOCIAL A FINALES DEL III MILENIO A.C. EN EL SUR DE PORTUGAL

The individual burial of the Herdade do Álamo, located in Beja municipality, South Portugal, is presented along with its bioanthropological study, radiocarbon dating and isotopic approaches on diet and mobility. The results show a male, with a terrestrial diet and youth mobility, dating from the last quarter of the 3rd millennium BC. The archaeometallurgical study of the metal votive assemblage (one tongue dagger and three Palmela points) indicates a copper metallurgy with high values of Arsenic (As), typical of this period of transition. The burial is contextualized in a process of individuation of the funerary practices and in the “Ferradeira Horizon”, considered as a facet of the diversified funerary practices and of the complex social changes of the late 3rd millennium BC in the South of Portugal.

A comparative study on the tibial morphology among several populations in ancient East Asia

Human skeletal morphology is a dynamic system affected by both physiological and environmental factors, due to the functional adaptation and remodeling responses of bones. To further explore the adaptation of bone to the environment and the consequent subsistence strategies determined by the diverse natural contexts in the Anthropocene, this study presents a comparative study on the tibiae of seven ancient populations located in different regions of East Asia. Through the analysis of the tibial shaft morphology, a comparative analysis between the populations and genders was conducted to evaluate the differences in external morphology and sexual division of labor. The cnemic indices of the tibial shaft were selected to quantify the external shape. Results showed that different populations had different tibial morphology. Among males, those of Jinggouzi had the flattest tibia while those of Changle had the widest tibia. Among the females, females of Hanben had the flattest tibia, whereas tibia from females of Shiqiao, Changle, and Yinxu were among the widest. The sexual dimorphism was relatively larger in Shiqiao and Jinggouzi and smaller in Tuchengzi and Changle. Through a combination of previous archaeological findings, historical records, and ethnography of the aboriginal Taiwanese, it is concluded that the terrain and ecological environments laid basis for varied subsistence strategies. In addition, the mobility and social labor division under a particular subsistence strategy further contributed to the adaptation of the lower limb morphology to its context. The comparative analysis provides further insight on habitual activities, terrestrial mobility patterns, and subsistence strategies of the populations, which lived in different environmental contexts during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age, thus demonstrating the diverse interactions between human populations and natural environment in the Anthropocene.

Chronological and regional variation in developmental stress and behavior of Early and Late Neolithic Cis-Baikal hunter-gatherer juveniles: Insights from diaphyseal cross-sectional geometry

This study explores growth (increase in size) and development (change in structure and function) in Middle Holocene Cis-Baikal hunter-gatherer populations to evaluate chronological and regional variation in developmental health and juvenile behavior using post-cranial Cross-Sectional Geometry (CSG). It also evaluates whether sexual differences in size and habitual behavior were evident by the end of adolescence. Age and body size standardized femur, tibia, and humerus midshaft CSG are used to test for differences between Early Neolithic (EN) and Late Neolithic (LN) juveniles from different micro-regions. Regression of these measures on radiocarbon date tests for differences within archaeological periods.EN individuals younger than 16 years, particularly those from the Angara River Valley, exhibit lower measures of cross-sectional size/ rigidity than LN juveniles. EN individuals older than 6 years, especially those from the Southwest Baikal had less circular lower limbs and higher humerus percent cortical area than LN individuals. Age standardized cross sectional size/ rigidity decline throughout both the EN and the LN, suggesting decrease in body size during both archaeological periods, whereas changes in femur shape are consistent with increases in juvenile mobility throughout the EN. By the end of adolescence, sexual dimorphism is emerging but not fully established in lower and upper limb robusticity and shape.The lower cross-sectional area and bending rigidity support higher levels of developmental stress in the EN compared to the LN period, whereas less circular lower limb indices suggest higher terrestrial mobility in the EN. These differences may reflect may a higher risk of resource scarcity in the EN, which resulted in higher mobility and greater involvement of juveniles in harvesting aquatic resources. Declines in body size within both archaeological periods emphasize the cyclical nature of developmental stress, perhaps due to declines in resource abundance. The presence of incipient sexual dimorphism by the end of adolescence is consistent with individuals beginning to assume adult roles.

Inferences on Sicilian Mesolithic subsistence patterns from cross-sectional geometry and entheseal changes

Using cross-sectional geometry (CSG), entheseal changes (ECs), and presence of external auditory meatus exostosis (EAE), this study tests the hypothesis—based on isotopic and zooarchaeological evidence—that in the Sicilian Mesolithic terrestrial rather than marine resources were predominantly exploited, in substantial continuity with previous Epigravettian hunters. Results show similarities in the general frequency of ECs—a rough proxy for overall activity—with Late Pleistocene hunters, in contrast with Mesolithic coastal foragers or Neolithic herders/farmers. Yet, CSG suggests that this possible continuity in the type of resources exploited was accompanied by a behavioral change, and in particular the abandonment of the throwing technology, possibly in favor of new tools such as traps and the bow and arrow. In fact, the dramatic decrease in humeral bilateral asymmetry documented at a European level with the Pleistocene-Holocene transition can be found also in the Sicilian Mesolithic. Results for the lower limb appear compatible with a certain degree of terrestrial mobility in a rugged environment. The frequency of EAE suggests that activities related to water were present but not common; however, their prominence is difficult to determine given the small sample size. The pattern of information provided by the proxies for activity used here is complex and partially contrasting, but has the potential to integrate and enrich archeological methods and biochemical approaches. This study corroborates a varied scenario of continuity and discontinuity in subsistence at the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, and highlights the importance of a regional bioarchaeological approach of human biological and behavioral adaptations.

Bone histology of varanopids (Synapsida) from Richards Spur, Oklahoma, sheds light on growth patterns and lifestyle in early terrestrial colonizers.

Varanopids were a group of small to medium-sized synapsids whose fossil record spans the Carboniferous through middle Permian. Although their phylogenetic relationships have received some interest in recent years, little is known about other aspects of their palaeobiology, including their skeletal growth, allometry and habitat preference. Here, we describe varanopid long bone histology based on a sample of well-preserved femora from the lower Permian Richards Spur fissure fill locality, Comanche County, Oklahoma, USA. The sample includes five femora from at least two varanopid taxa-Mycterosaurus and the large varanodontine Varanops brevirostris-and four additional mycterosaurine femora not diagnosed to genus. Prior work on femoral bone compactness provided a baseline to make lifestyle inferences and evaluate whether varanopids were ancestrally terrestrial. Moreover, the large availability of specimens spanning different sizes made possible an assessment of size-related ontogenetic histovariability. All specimens revealed moderately dense cortical bone tissues composed of sparsely vascularized parallel-fibred and lamellar bone with radially arranged rows of longitudinal canals (mostly simple), and many preserved regularly spaced growth marks (annuli and lines of arrested growth) as in modern varanids. We show that bone histology has the potential to explain how ballast was shed and the skeleton lightened for terrestrial mobility in ancestral synapsids and their basal amniote kin, as well as how adjustments in postnatal growth influenced the evolution of larger body sizes in the terrestrial frontier. This article is part of the theme issue 'Vertebrate palaeophysiology'.

The correspondence between the structure of the terrestrial mobility network and the spreading of COVID-19 in Brazil.

The inter-cities mobility network is of great importance in understanding outbreaks, especially in Brazil, a continental-dimension country. We adopt the data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health and the terrestrial flow of people between cities from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics database in two scales: cities from Brazil, without the North region, and from the São Paulo State. Grounded on the complex networks approach, and considering that the mobility network serves as a proxy for the SARS-CoV-2 spreading, the nodes and edges represent cities and flows, respectively. Network centrality measures such as strength and degree are ranked and compared to the list of cities, ordered according to the day that they confirmed the first case of COVID-19. The strength measure captures the cities with a higher vulnerability of receiving new cases. Besides, it follows the interiorization process of SARS-CoV-2 in the São Paulo State when the network flows are above specific thresholds. Some countryside cities such as Feira de Santana (Bahia State), Ribeirão Preto (São Paulo State), and Caruaru (Pernambuco State) have strength comparable to states' capitals. Our analysis offers additional tools for understanding and decision support to inter-cities mobility interventions regarding the SARS-CoV-2 and other epidemics.

The bioarchaeology of mid-Holocene pastoralist cemeteries west of Lake Turkana, Kenya

Early herders in eastern Africa built elaborate megalithic cemeteries ~ 5000 BP overlooking what is now Lake Turkana in northwestern Kenya. At least six ‘pillar sites’ were constructed during a time of rapid change: cattle, sheep, and goats were introduced to the basin as the lake was shrinking at the end of the African Humid Period. Cultural changes at this time include new lithic and ceramic technologies and the earliest monumentality in eastern Africa. Isolated human remains previously excavated from pillar sites east of Lake Turkana seemed to indicate that pillar site platforms were ossuaries for secondary burials. Recent bioarchaeological excavations at four pillar sites west of the lake have now yielded ≥49 individuals, most from primary and some from secondary interments, challenging earlier interpretations. Here we describe the mortuary cavities, and burial contexts, and included items such as adornments from Lothagam North, Lothagam West, Manemanya, and Kalokol pillar sites. In doing so, we reassess previous hypotheses regarding pillar site construction, use, and inter-site variability. We also present the first osteological analyses of skeletons buried at these sites. Although the human remains are fragmentary, they are nevertheless informative about the sex, age, and body size of the deceased and give evidence for health and disease processes. Periosteal moulds of long bone midshafts (n = 34 elements) suggest patterns of terrestrial mobility. Pillar site deposits provide important new insights into early herder lifeways in eastern Africa and the impact of the transition to pastoralism on past human populations.

Trabecular bone structure scales allometrically in the foot of four human groups

The human foot is highly derived relative to that of other hominoids and therefore a topic of intense research in paleoanthropology. While trabecular bone is thought to be highly plastic in response to habitual behavior, knowledge of how trabecular structure scale with body size is essential for making functional inferences from trabecular bone morphology. Trabecular bone properties scale with negative allometry in interspecific studies that includes a wide range of body size; however, intraspecific scaling patterns often differ from interspecific trends. In this paper we examine patterns of trabecular bone scaling in the calcaneus, talus, and first metatarsal of four human populations with different subsistence strategies and associated levels of terrestrial mobility. We report Bayesian linear regressions between the natural logarithms of femoral head diameter and five standard trabecular variables calculated in five spherical volumes of interest. We additionally report regressions on population-specific z-scores of femoral head diameter and trabecular variables as a way of placing the four populations on a common scale. Results show that with increasing body size there is no change in bone volume fraction (BV/TV) and trabecular thickness (Tb.Th), a slight increase in trabecular spacing (Tb.Sp), and a sharp decrease in connectivity density (Conn.D). Degree of anisotropy was found to scale with positive allometry in the calcaneus, negative allometry in the talar trochlea, and shows no relationship with femoral head diameter in the talar and first metatarsal heads. These results show that scaling of the degree of anisotropy can vary substantially within and between bones. Degree of anisotropy is often used as a proxy for directionality in joint loading when interpreting variation in trabecular structures of fossils and extant primates. Body size should therefore be an important consideration when trabecular bone structure is used to interpret function from fossil morphology.

Intensive terrestrial or marine locomotor strategies are associated with inter- and intra-limb bone functional adaptation in living female athletes.

ObjectivesTo systematically characterize intra‐limb patterns of skeletal plasticity to loading among living women, in order to better understand regional complexity in structural adaptation within the lower limb and more accurately infer behavior in the past.Materials and methodsWe used peripheral quantitative computed tomography imaging of the femur, tibia, first and second metatarsals to quantify bone morphology among female controls and athletes representative of either terrestrial or marine mobility, grouped by loading category (odd‐impact, repetitive low‐impact, and high‐magnitude). Parameters included midshaft bone density, areas, rigidity, and shape, epiphyseal bone densities and areas. We assessed between‐group differences and the influence of training history on significant variation among the loading groups.ResultsTerrestrial mobility strategies were best distinguished by significant midshaft periosteal hypertrophy across the lower limb/foot relative to controls, and by particularly high midshaft femoral and tibial cortical bone areas relative to rowers. Enhanced midshaft bone area was typically paired with decreased bone density among athlete groups. Sport‐specific variation in training duration/timing was significantly correlated with multiple midshaft parameters.DiscussionResults demonstrate characteristic patterns of intra‐limb adaptation to terrestrial and marine mobility strategies among active women relative to controls, and highlight components of these patterns that may be shaped in part by differences in loading duration/timing. Additionally, our findings support constraints on skeletal variation in the distal tibia and foot relative to more proximal locations about the knee among living women. For example, metatarsal variation was constrained, but where present reflected sport‐specific variation in force distribution in the foot.

Trabecular bone functional adaptation and sexual dimorphism in the human foot.

Trabecular bone adapts to the strains placed upon the skeleton during life. Anthropological research has largely focused on linking variation in primate trabecular bone to locomotor mode, to provide a context for interpreting fossil morphology. However, intraspecific variation and its underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. Trabecular bone is influenced by a variety of factors including body mass, age, diet, temperature, genetics, sex, and behavior. Before trabecular structure can be used to infer habitual behavior in the past, the effects of these factors need to be understood. In this article, we examine variation in trabecular structure in the human foot in four archaeological groups in relation to inferred levels of terrestrial mobility and sex. We use high-resolution μCT scanning to examine variation in trabecular structure in the human calcaneus, talus, and first metatarsal in two relatively mobile and two relatively sedentary archaeological groups. The four population samples show similar patterns of trabecular variation throughout the foot, influenced by mechanical loading. Greater inferred terrestrial mobility is associated with greater bone volume fraction and thicker, more widely spaced, and less interconnected trabeculae. However, contrary to diaphyseal rigidity, only limited sexual dimorphism was found in trabecular structure. This work demonstrates that trabecular bone may serve as a useful proxy of habitual behavior in the fossil and archaeological record when other factors are carefully considered. However, the mechanisms underlying sexual dimorphism are not well understood. As such, inferring sex differences in habitual behavior is currently challenging.

On a CPG-Based Hexapod Robot: AmphiHex-II With Variable Stiffness Legs

Amphibious robots have attracted more and more attention from researchers for their broad applications, while it also brings great challenges in designing appropriate propulsion mechanisms and effective control algorithms. In this paper, we reported a newly designed amphibious hexapod robot-AmphiHex-II. This robot possesses six newly designed variable stiffness legs for adapting various complex environments. This novel design of the variable stiffness leg seamlessly incorporates the advantages of both semicircular walking legs and the swimming flexible flippers. The legs are constructed by rigid fan-shaped frames, which work as walking legs for terrestrial locomotion and protect the contained flexible flippers used for aquatic locomotion during terrestrial operations. The stiffness of legs can be adjusted to an effective degree by adjusting the positions of sliders manually. The effect of variable stiffness on locomotion performance was experimentally investigated. Moreover, in order to achieve a smooth and quick gait transition, a central pattern generator neural network was introduced to control the system. Different gait generation strategies on land and underwater were demonstrated. A series of field experiments were carried out to evaluate locomotion performance of the AmphiHex-II for terrestrial and aquatic mobility, and the results demonstrate the advantages of the novel leg design and the control system.

Ecological variation in Later Stone Age southern African biomechanical properties

Behavioural ecology suggests that human populations modify their behaviour, including subsistence strategy, technology, and mobility, in response to ecological variation. This paper examines if cross-sectional geometric properties (CSGPs) indicative of habitual physical behaviours, including manual activities and terrestrial mobility, vary among southern African Later Stone Age (LSA) Mediterranean Cape coast (n=85), semiarid central interior (n=53), and hyperarid Namib Desert (n=17) individuals. Results will be contextualised using the dietary breadth model, which accounts for the search and handling costs associated with acquiring and processing resources. CSGPs were assessed for humeri, femora, and tibiae using periosteal moulds and 3D laser surface scans at the humerus middistal (35%) location as well as the femur and tibia midshaft (50%) locations.Humerus strength indicators were higher among central interior and Namib Desert females. This may have occurred due to decreased resource quality and quantities in these semiarid and arid ecologies. Females in particular may have enhanced resource-processing efforts to maximise nutritional intake in sparse ecologies. Lower limb biomechanical properties indicative of strength were highest among Cape coast individuals, but it is not clear if search efforts were higher in this region, or if other factors like complex terrain imposed a biomechanical cost for individuals living in this region. Overall, local ecologies interact with subsistence strategies to impact upper limb habitual activities among LSA southern African groups.

Prehistoric women's manual labor exceeded that of athletes through the first 5500 years of farming in Central Europe.

The intensification of agriculture is often associated with declining mobility and bone strength through time, although women often exhibit less pronounced trends than men. For example, previous studies of prehistoric Central European agriculturalists (~5300 calibrated years BC to 850 AD) demonstrated a significant reduction in tibial rigidity among men, whereas women were characterized by low tibial rigidity, little temporal change, and high variability. Because of the potential for sex-specific skeletal responses to mechanical loading and a lack of modern comparative data, women's activity in prehistory remains difficult to interpret. This study compares humeral and tibial cross-sectional rigidity, shape, and interlimb loading among prehistoric Central European women agriculturalists and living European women of known behavior (athletes and controls). Prehistoric female tibial rigidity at all time periods was highly variable, but differed little from living sedentary women on average, and was significantly lower than that of living runners and football players. However, humeral rigidity exceeded that of living athletes for the first ~5500 years of farming, with loading intensity biased heavily toward the upper limb. Interlimb strength proportions among Neolithic, Bronze Age, and Iron Age women were most similar to those of living semi-elite rowers. These results suggest that, in contrast to men, rigorous manual labor was a more important component of prehistoric women's behavior than was terrestrial mobility through thousands of years of European agriculture, at levels far exceeding those of modern women.

A Habitual Activity in Pre-industrial Rural and Urban Dutch Populations: A Study of Lower Limb Cross-sectional Geometry

This study combines historical data and the principles of bone functional adaptation to examine variation in terrestrial mobility in men and women from pre-industrial urban (Alkmaar 7M, 9F) and rural (Klaaskinderkerke 12M, 8F; Middenbeemster 21M, 22F) Dutch populations. Cross-sectional properties of the femoral and tibial midshaft are determined to investigate variation in lower limb mechanical loading. All populations had comparable age ranges. Rural Middenbeemster males had significantly more elliptically shaped tibiae compared to the other populations. Rural males from Klaaskinderkerke had significantly greater femoral cross-sectional area and torsional rigidity compared to females. In the tibia, the males from both rural populations had greater torsional rigidity and cross-sectional area compared to females. In the rural Middenbeemster population the males also had significantly more elliptically shaped tibiae compared to females. While no sexual dimorphism was found in the urban Alkmaar, significantly greater variation in lower limb cross-sectional properties was found for both males and females relative to the rural populations. These results conform to predictions based on the historical literature of greater lower limb loading in rural males compared to females as well as a greater variety of tasks performed in urban environments. The lack of significant differences in lower limb torsional rigidity or shape between populations in either sex suggests that rural life was not necessarily more physically strenuous than urban life in pre-industrial Dutch populations. However, variation in sexual dimorphism suggests that labor between males and females was differently organized in the rural and urban samples.

Trabecular bone structural variation throughout the human lower limb

Trabecular bone is responsive to mechanical loading, and thus may be a useful tool for interpreting past behaviour from fossil morphology. However, the ability to meaningfully interpret variation in archaeological and hominin trabecular morphology depends on the extent to which trabecular bone properties are integrated throughout the postcranium or are locally variable in response to joint specific loading. We investigate both of these factors by comparing trabecular bone throughout the lower limb between a group of highly mobile foragers and two groups of sedentary agriculturalists. Trabecular bone structure is quantified in four volumes of interest placed within the proximal and distal joints of the femur and tibia. We determine how trabecular structures correspond to inferred behavioural differences between populations and whether the patterns are consistent throughout the limb. A significant correlation was found between inferred mobility level and trabecular bone structure in all volumes of interest along the lower limb. The greater terrestrial mobility of foragers is associated with higher bone volume fraction, and thicker and fewer trabeculae (lower connectivity density). In all populations, bone volume fraction decreases while anisotropy increases proximodistally throughout the lower limb. This observation mirrors reductions in cortical bone mass resulting from proximodistal limb tapering. The reduction in strength associated with reduced bone volume fraction may be compensated for by the increased anisotropy in the distal tibia. A similar pattern of trabecular structure is found throughout the lower limb in all populations, upon which a signal of terrestrial mobility appears to be superimposed. These results support the validity of using lower limb trabecular bone microstructure to reconstruct terrestrial mobility levels from the archaeological and fossil records. The results further indicate that care should be taken to appreciate variation resulting from differences in habitual activity when inferring behaviour from the trabecular structure of hominin fossils through comparisons with modern humans.