ANTH 3/Human Evolution: Introduction to Biological Anthropology and Archeology
Summer 2008, TTh 1-4 pm, June 24-July 31, Faulkner 2
Prof. Linda Van Blerkom
Office hours: by appointment, Faulkner 7, x3701. You may also call me at home at _____.
Email Lvanbler@drew.edu.
Course description and goals: The course is an introduction to the study of human evolution,
both biological and cultural, from the perspectives of biological (physical) anthropology and
archeology. The primary goals of this course are to increase your knowledge and understanding
of human evolution and to explore how anthropologists have analyzed and interpreted the
evidence and how ideas about human nature and evolution have changed. The emphasis is on
principles, theory, and interpretation rather than on memorizing the details of hundreds of skulls,
teeth, and artifacts. Topics addressed include basic evolutionary theory, changing paradigms in
paleoanthropology, our place in nature, how we compare with other primates (especially our
closest relatives the apes), the earliest hominins and the evolution of bipedalism, later hominins
and the expansion of the brain, and the origins of modern humans, complex behavior, and an
agricultural lifestyle. Class sessions will be devoted to lecture, discussion, video excerpts, and
hands-on examination of fossil materials.
Course objectives: Students completing this course should be able to:
• distinguish between scientific and non-scientific approaches to human origins;
• describe the primate order and how humans fit into it;
• sketch an outline of human biological evolution and draw a simplified family tree;
• describe the most important factors and processes contributing to human evolution;
• identify key terms and concepts in human evolution and paleoanthropology;
• describe several ways in which biological evolution has contributed to human biology, health,
and behavior today;
• analyze current problems using an evolutionary perspective.
Required text:
Principles of Human Evolution, 2nd edition, by Roger Lewin and Robert A. Foley
(Blackwell Publishing, 2004).
Schedule:
Week Date
1
2
Subject/Assignment
Reading
6/24
Introduction
Paleoanthropology and the scientific method
Video: "Ape-Man: Science and Fiction"
6/26
Changing ideas about humans and our origins
Principles of evolutionary theory
Chapters 1-2
7/1
Macro-evolutionary processes, geological time,
and dating methods
Video excerpt: "Evolution: Extinctions"
Chapters 3-4
2
3
4
5
6
7/3
Systematics: phenetics and cladistics
Primate taxonomy and evolution
Video: "Life in the Trees"
Evolution T/F assignment due
Chapters 5-6
7/8
Hominoid (ape) behavior
Videos: "The New Chimpanzees"
Chapter 7-8
7/10
Midterm Exam
7/15
Earliest hominins: bipedal apes
Video: "The Family That Walks on All Fours"
Second homework assignment due
Chapters 9-10
7/17
Genus Homo and early stone tools
Video excerpt: "Humans: Who Are We?"
Chapters 11-12
7/22
Hominins of the Pleistocene: leaving Africa, again
and again
Video: "Neanderthals on Trial"
Mystery Fossil assignment due
Chapters 13-14
7/24
Origins of modern humans
Video: "Evolution: The Mind's Big Bang"
Chapters 15-16
7/29
Language, culture, and modern symbolic behavior
Video: "Mystery of the First Americans"
Stone Age Bodies assignment due
Chapters 17-18
7/31
Plant and animal domestication, the origins of
agriculture, and its consequences
The future of our species
Chapter 19
Take-home Final Exam due 8/2
Requirements and grading: Your grade will depend on the following:
1. Quizzes, 100 pts. Given the amount of information each day's class will involve, regular (and
punctual) attendance is required. You are expected to have completed the reading before coming to
class as quizzes will be given most days and will consist of a question drawn from that day's reading
assignment. There will be no makeups; one lowest quiz score will be dropped.
2. Midterm and final exams, 100 pts. each (200 pts. total). There will be two exams
covering all assigned readings and class activities for that half of the course. These exams will
contain multiple choice and essay questions and will test both recall and application of that
segment's concepts. The final exam will be take-home, due by midnight on August 2 (two days
after our last class).
3. Four homework assignments, 25 pts. each (100 pts. total):
3
a. Evolution take-home quiz: This assignment is a true-false quiz testing how well you
understand some basic principles of evolutionary theory and human evolution, due July 3.
b. Understanding human evolutionary processes: You'll be given a set of questions to
answer using evolutionary thinking. These will include problems requiring predictions based on
the principles of evolution (how natural selection works, importance of adaptation to the
environment, etc.). The goal of this assignment is to gauge how well you understand the
principles and processes of human evolution. Due July 15.
c. Mystery Fossil: Who (or what) was Homo floresiensis? What, exactly, was found
(plus where, and when does it date to)? Why is it such an important find? What is its
significance for paleoanthropology? Why do some scholars disagree? Look up this information
and familiarize yourself with it, then fill out the take-home quiz on it, due July 22. Why, in your
opinion, is there such avid debate over this find?
d. Stone Age Bodies: Since the appearance of our species (anatomicaly modern Homo
sapiens), most of our evolution has been cultural, not biological. This means that we have bodies
and minds that evolved in adaptation to the stone age but now live in very different conditions
and lifestyles. This assignment asks you to think about what that might mean for human health
today. What are some health or behavioral problems people suffer from today as a result of this
discordance? Due July 29.
4. Attendance: All students are expected to attend class regularly and punctually. Poor
attendance or tardiness will result in the lowering of one's grade via missed quizzes.
Academic Accommodations: Should you require academic accommodations, you must file a
request with the Office of Educational Affairs (BC 114, extension 3327). It is your responsibility
to self-identify with the Office of Educational Affairs and to provide me with the appropriate
documentation from that office at least one week prior to any request for specific course
accommodations. There are no retroactive accommodations.