Santa MonicaCollege
Anthropology 1: Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Spring 2011
Tuesdays6:45 – 9:50 pm
Drescher Hall, Room 136
Instructor:
Email:
Mailbox:
Thomas Flamson
flamson_thomas@smc.edu
Liberal Arts Bldg. Room 102
SYLLABUS
Description: A survey of human biology, this course focuses on human origins and evolution
by investigating the major aspects of physical anthropology including Mendelian and population
genetics, primate and hominid evolutionary processes, contemporary variability, and facets of
primate ethology and human behavior that make the human species unique in the animal
kingdom.
Lectures:
We will be covering a lot of material every class meeting, and attendance is
mandatory. There will be a 20-minute break around 8 pm. The PowerPoint slides used in each
lecture will be available on the class website the following day as Adobe Acrobat pdfs (if you do
not already have it, google “Acrobat Reader” to download the free program that will let you view
these files). Viewing these slides is not a substitute for attending lecture—they will contain
illustrations and topic headings, but the substance of each lecture will be delivered in class. They
are primarily useful as a study aid, and to save you the effort of copying illustrations and
complex diagrams by hand.
Robert Jurmain, et al., Introduction to Physical Anthropology, 12th ed., West
Publishing Co., 2009
You are expected to have read the portions of the textbook noted for each class meeting
prior to class time. Some of the chapters are assigned in a different order than presented in the
textbook, and some are split between two class meetings, so please check the syllabus carefully.
When chapters are split between assignments, the section breaks (written in a large, blue font in
the textbook) are listed after the page numbers.
Textbook:
Grading:
Attendance:
10%
Exam 1,3/15:
30%
Exam 2, 4/26:
30%
Exam 3, 6/7:
30%
Each exam will only cover the material presented in the previous weeks (since the
beginning of class, or since the previous exam). The exams will be 100 multiple-choice,
matching, and true-or-false questions,and may includeany material from lecture or the textbook.
You are expected to bring anAppersonForm 25110 and a No. 2 pencil on exam days.
There will be no make-up exams for any reason. If you have a legitimate, documented
conflict (e.g., a note from your doctor, coach or program supervisor saying attendance is/was
impossible) then you will be excused for that exam, and your grade will be calculated from
attendance and the other two exams.
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Anthropology 1, Spring 2011
Thomas Flamson
SCHEDULE
Part 1: Principles of Evolution
2/15:
Readings:
Introduction to Physical Anthropology
Chapter 1, pages 2 – 22;
2/22:
Readings:
Evolutionary Theory and DNA
Chapter 2, pages 24 – 46;
Chapter 3, pages 48 – 78
3/1:
Readings:
Genetics
Chapter 4, pages 80 – 92 (until “Non-Mendelian Inheritance”);
Chapter 15, pages 436 – 443 (“Population Genetics” and “Evolution in Action”)
3/8:
Readings:
The Modern Synthesis and Macroevolution
Chapter 4, pages 93 – 108 (from “Non-Mendelian Inheritance”);
Chapter 5, pages 110 – 138
3/15:
EXAM 1
Part 2: Primatology& Primate Evolution
3/22:
Readings:
Film:
Introduction to Primates
Chapter 6, pages 140 – 176
Life in the Trees
3/29:
Readings:
PrimateBehavioral Ecology and Sexual Selection
Chapter 7, pages 178 – 206
4/5:
Readings:
Primate Intelligence and Altruism
Chapter 8, pages 208 – 214 & 221 – 234 (except “Language” and “The Evolution
of Language”)
4/12:
SPRING BREAK – NO CLASS
4/19:
Readings:
Paleoanthropology and Primate Evolution
Chapter 9, pages 236 – 272;
Chapter 10, pages 279 – 289 (“The Strategy of Paleoanthropology” through
“Dating Methods”)
4/26:
EXAM 2
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Anthropology 1, Spring 2011
Thomas Flamson
Part 3: Human Evolution
5/3:
Readings:
The Bipedal Apes
Chapter 10, pages 274 – 279 & 293 – 300 (except “The Strategy of
Paleoanthropology” through “Experimental Archaeology”);
Chapter 11, pages 302 – 328
5/10:
Readings:
The Genus Homo
Chapter 10, pages 289 – 293 (“Excavations at Olduvai” and “Experimental
Archaeology”);
Chapter 12, pages 330 – 354;
Chapter 13, pages 356 – 367 (until “Neandertals: Premodern Humans of the Late
Pleistocene”);
Chapter 14, pages 410 – 412 (“Something New and Different”)
5/17:
Readings:
Human Origins
Chapter 13, pages 367 – 390 (from “Neandertals: Premodern Humans of the Late
Pleistocene”);
Chapter 14, pages 392 – 410 & 412 – 420 (except “Something New and
Different”)
5/24:
Readings:
Evolution of Language, Human Variation and Senescence
Chapter 8, pages 214 – 221 (“Language” and “Evolution of Language”);
Chapter 15, pages 422 – 436 & 443 – 448 (except “Population Genetics” and
“Evolution in Action”);
Chapter 16, pages 450 – 470;
Chapter 17, pages 475 – 491 (“Biocultural Evolution and the Life Cycle” and
“Evolutionary Medicine”)
5/31:
Readings:
Evolution and Modern Human Behavior
Chapter 17, pages 472 – 475 & 491 – 500 (except “Biocultural Evolution and the
Life Cycle” and “Evolutionary Medicine”)
6/7:
EXAM 3
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