ANTHROPOLOGY 101
HUMAN BIOLOGICAL EVOLUTION
SUMMER 2008
PACE SECTION 4972
THURSDAY EVENINGS 6:00 – 8:00 PM
ALTERNATE SATURDAYS (SEE SCHEDULE) 8:00 AM – 12 NOON
ANTH 0102
ANTH 0102
This course is an introduction to the anthropological study of human biology and human evolution. Topics include
the mechanisms of evolutionary change, genetics and human variation, and the reconstruction of human evolutionary
history through an examination of the fossil record and through the use of comparative studies of our closest biological relatives, the living monkeys and apes. The course will also explore what implications evolutionary theory has for
modern psychology and behavior. In order to understand what it is to be human, we need to have an understanding of
how humans evolved. There are four steps to this process, which correspond roughly to the four units of this course.
First, we need to understand how evolution works, which includes a discussion of human genetics and natural selection. Second, we will look at how evolution works in the Order Primates (which includes the monkeys, apes, and humans). Through comparative studies of natural history, anatomy, behavior, and DNA, we gain many useful clues
about human evolution. Third, we will study the history of the human lineage, examining the fossil record to determine where our ancestors came from and what they were like. Finally, we look at modern humans, including the examination of contemporary human variation.
STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
Upon satisfactory completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Explain and apply the scientific method in the context of problem-solving.
2. Describe the process of evolution and explain how to assess the evolutionary history of a species.
3. Describe and analyze the evolution and biological diversity of humans, past and present.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Upon satisfactory completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. Apply the process of science to problem solving situations and formulate procedural steps necessary for a scientific investigation.
2. Analyze and evaluate the arguments of creationism and intelligence design and demonstrate the fallacies of these
points of view as scientific theories.
3. Describe, apply, and distinguish the basic concepts of Mendelian genetics, cytogenetics, molecular genetics, and
population genetics.
4. Criticize and debate contemporary issues that have developed out of the modern applications of genetics to humans such as genetic counseling, cloning, and gene therapy.
5. Describe the process of evolution and speciation by employing the concepts upon which modern evolutionary
theory is based and recognize examples of each.
6. Diagram the place of Homo sapiens within the animal kingdom as expressed in the classification of humans and
demonstrate what evidence is used to determine evolutionary relationships among animals.
7. Differentiate between monkeys, apes and humans by identifying both similarities and differences.
8. Compare and contrast the anatomy of humans and the great apes, and be able to identify those anatomical features that provide evidence for human evolution. Explain and evaluate this evidence.
9. Compare the social behavior of human and nonhuman primates and demonstrate how studies of primate behavior shed light on contemporary human behavior.
10. Construct a probable scenario of early hominin behavior.
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11. Categorize the important hominin fossils and construct a diagram illustrating the evolutionary history of the hominins.
12. Describe the physical differences observed among all human populations and determine the ecological significance and distribution of these differences.
13. Compare cultural classifications of human variation with biological observations and hypotheses. Assess the validity of these cultural classifications.
TEXTBOOK
Stein & Rowe, Physical Anthropology, ninth edition (0-07-320575-3)
 A copy of the text is on 2-hour reserve in the Library.
 The text is also available as a Digital Textbook (0-07-299483-5) at
www.zinio.com.
COURSE ORGANIZATION
PACE courses are condensed and move rapidly. This course is highly structured and it is important that
you understand how the course is put together.
 The course is divided into 16 lessons. Each lesson consists of 2 hours of classroom time supplemented by out-of-class activities. The 4-hour long Saturday sessions consist of 2 lessons each.
 We will be using Moodle, which is a computer-based course management system. You will be given
instructions on how to find Moodle and how to log on. Each of the 16 lessons will be found in Moodle and will be available at least a week before the lesson is scheduled for classroom presentation.
Each on-line lesson will provide you with the exact reading assignment, a list of terms to know, study
questions, an outside activity to be completed and submitted through Moodle, as well as other helpful
information.
ACTIVITIES
PACE classes meet for fewer hours than regular classes. In order to meet State requirements, outside activities will be assigned to makeup the missing hours. Each lesson, except for the first and last, will have
an activity. Some activities involve going to an Internet site and reading the material. This material will
be covered on the quizzes. Others involve writing a brief report based on material or an activity on a particular web site. There will also be a few short essays on selected topics.
EXAMS
 There will be 4 quizzes. Each of the quizzes will
consist of 40-50 multiple choice questions. The
lowest quiz score will be dropped.
 The final exam will be given on Saturday, August 2, from 8:00 – 10:00 a.m. The final exam
will not be given at a different time or date.
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Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge: it is those who know little, and not those
who know much, who so positively assert that this or that problem will never be solved by science.
Charles Darwin (1809-1882)
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE
Subject to Change
Date
6/12
Lesson
1
Topic
Introduction to the Course
The Study of Physical Anthropology
6/14*
2
The Nature of Science and the Rise of Evolutionary Theory
6/14
3
Mendelian, Cellular, and Molecular Genetics
6/19
4
QUIZ 1 (Lessons 1, 2, 3); Population Genetics and the Mechanisms of
Microevolutionary Change
6/26
5
Selection and the Origin of Species
6/28
6
Principles of Taxonomy; People’s Place in Nature
6/28
7
The Living Primates
7/3
8
QUIZ 2 (Lessons 4, 5, 6, 7)
Comparative Anatomy of the Living Primates
7/10
9
Comparative Anatomy of the Living Primates
7/12
10
Nonhuman Primate Behavior
7/12
11
Human Behavior in Perspective
7/17
12
QUIZ 3 (Lessons 8, 9, 10, 11)
Fossils and Their Interpretation and the Early Primate Fossil Record
7/24
13
The Early Hominins
7/26
14
The Early Species of the Genus Homo
7/26
15
The Evolution of Homo sapiens
7/31
16
QUIZ 4 (Lessons 12, 13, 14, 15)
The Biology of Homo sapiens and the Analysis of Human Variation
8/2
-FINAL EXAM (Lessons 16, 17, and review of previous lessons)
*Shaded lines are Saturday classes.
Black & White Images: EclectiCollections™
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