Anthropology 131
Laboratory in Physical Anthropology (Spring 2012)
Section 8786 (Wed 11 am – 1:50 pm)
Bldg. 30, Room 208
Professor Kate Teffer
Email: kate.teffer@gcccd.edu
Course Webpage: kateteffer.wordpress.com
Course Description:
ANTH 131 is a 1-unit laboratory experience designed to familiarize you with the materials and
techniques of physical anthropology. You will use physical anthropological methods and tools to
solve problems in the areas of genetics, human variation, human osteology, primate biology and
behavior, and human evolution. Underlying all this is grounding in scientific fundamentals
including the techniques of observation, measurement, and critical thinking.
Student Learning Outcomes
Once you leave the course, you should be able to do the following:
 Employing a comparative perspective, analyze cranial and dental features of various
species of living primates, fossil hominins and modern humans.
 Make anthropological laboratory and field observations and measurements in
accordance with established scientific protocol.
Prerequisite:
A “C” or “CR” grade or higher or concurrent enrollment in Anthropology 130 or equivalent.
Required text:
 Exploring Physical Anthropology: A Lab Manual and Workbook, 2nd ed. (2009)
Suzanne E. Walker. Morton Publishing Company, Englewood, CO. This edition only
(older edition is not acceptable). You must purchase the lab manual in order to
complete lab assignments. The lab manual chapters for the first two weeks of class
will be available as pdf’s on the course website. After that, you must have bought the lab
manual.
 Access to a current or recent physical anthropology textbook (your Anth 130 textbook or
similar). If you no longer have your Anth 130 textbook, there are appropriate textbooks
available at the library.
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Other Required Materials:
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Three-ring binder (1 ½” to 2” thick) to hold your lab manual and notes.
4 Grademaster forms (#24520)
Calculator
Clipboard (recommended)
Pencils
$15 for a Zoo College Study Pass, if you decide to visit the zoo independently. If you go
on the designated field trip day, there is no cost to you.
Grading
Your grade will be based on the following:
12 Lab Exercises (10 points each)
 There will be lab exercises conducted each week in class. You will turn in 14 labs, but
only your 12 highest scores will be counted. Unless otherwise specified, all work must be
completed in the lab.
 Your lowest lab score will be automatically dropped. If you miss a lab, it will count as a
dropped score.
 If you are absent the day of the lab (even an excused absence), you cannot make the
lab up--no exceptions.
5 Quizzes (20 points each)
Six quizzes will be given:
 Three multiple choice quizzes on course material. You will need a Grademaster Form
#24520 for each of these. You may bring a handwritten, single page of notes into the
quiz, but no books.
 Three practical quizzes consisting of identification of bones and other skeletal features of
humans, non-human primates, and extinct hominins. CLOSED book and note.
Only your highest 5 quiz scores will be counted; your lowest score will be dropped. If you miss
one quiz, it will count as the dropped score. No make-up quizzes are allowed for any reason.
Take-Home Final (40 points)
Cumulative exam, details TBA.
Primate Observation Lab (30 points)
Data collection on primate behavior at the San Diego Zoo. You have a choice of going to the
zoo with the class on the designated field trip date, or going independently.
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If you have a medical reason or ethical objection that prevents you from visiting the zoo, you have
the option of doing an alternate assignment, but you must contact me by the end of Week 5 to
discuss and obtain my approval for an alternative project.
Extra Credit (10 points max)
Details on the extra credit will be available on the course website.
Total Points Possible: 290
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Grading Breakdown:
5 quizzes (20 pts each)
12 Lab Exercises (10 pts/lab)
Zoo field study project
Take-home Final Exam
100 points
120 points
30 points
40 points
Total points possible:
290 points
Grading Scale
There is no curve in this class. Your grade will based upon how many points you earn out of
290. There is no plus-minus grading. Your letter grade will be calculated based on the following
scale:
A:
B:
C:
D:
F:
261 + points (90% or greater)
232 – 260 (80-89.9%)
203 – 231 (70-79.9%)
174 – 202 (60-69.9%)
173 or less (59.9% or less)
Course Policies
Late work and make-up work
 Missed labs and quizzes cannot be made up (no exceptions). If you come in late, you
will not be given extra time to complete a quiz or exam.
Attendance and participation
Regular attendance is required. This means being on time and staying for the entire class
period. At the start of class, I will call roll or pass around a sign-in sheet.
 If you come in after roll is called, you are tardy. Each tardy and/or early departure will
count as ½ an unexcused absence.
 Two or more unexcused absences will result in you being dropped from the class.
 However, if you wish to drop, do not simply stop attending. Instead, drop the class
officially through Admissions and Records. Otherwise, you could wind up with an “F.”
 Excused absences include absences for medical, family and legal reasons. If you miss
class for any of these reasons, please let me know in writing (email or written note)
within a week of returning to class, and I will excuse your absence. However, you will not
be able to make up missed laboratory assignments.
Laboratory classroom conduct
The optimal environment for learning is one of mutual respect, where everyone can listen,
participate, share ideas and learn.
 Be prepared to stay the full lab period each week. If you finish early, use the time to help
other students, work on the supplementary material in your lab manual, or study for
future quizzes.
 Lab materials are frequently limited, so share the lab equipment and wait your turn if
something is in use. Help clean up your work station and bring out or put away lab
supplies as requested by the instructor.
 Handle all equipment and specimens with extreme care. Hold skulls with both hands
over the table as directed by the instructor.
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Do not bring food into the lab. Drinks with closed containers are acceptable; however, all
drinks must be placed at the back of the room while lab materials are on your table.
Anyone sleeping, listening to music, carrying on side conversations, leaving the room to
take a phone call, text-messaging, failing to silence their cellphone, or any other
disruptive act will be asked to leave. Repeat offenders face suspension and the
likelihood of being dropped from the course.
Do not work ahead by trying to anticipate the lab exercises conducted in class.
Anyone damaging or stealing equipment or laboratory materials will be immediately
suspended from the class and the matter referred to the campus police and the Dean of
Student Affairs.
Plagiarism and Cheating
The following is the official statement of the Grossmont College Faculty on Academic Integrity:
Cheating and plagiarism (using as one's own ideas writings, materials, or images of
someone else without acknowledgement or permission) can result in any one of a
variety of sanctions. Such penalties may range from an adjusted grade on the particular
exam, paper, project, or assignment (all of which may lead to a failing grade in the
course) to, under certain conditions, suspension or expulsion from a class, program or
the college. For further clarification and information on these issues, please consult with
your instructor or contact the office of the Associate Dean of Student Affairs.
In this course, there is a zero tolerance policy for cheating and plagiarism, otherwise known as
academic fraud. Here are just a few examples of academic fraud:
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Copying or allowing another student to copy from you during a lab or exam.
Altering a returned exam or paper and seeking a better grade.
Sharing work with another student on an assignment that is supposed to be your own.
Falsifying or misrepresenting data (for example, using the Zoo’s website to write your
primate report instead of actually observing the animals at the zoo).
**A note about collaborative work: While you are encouraged (and often required) to work
together on the lab exercises, your submitted work must be your own. Collaborating on an
assignment involves students working cooperatively and sharing ideas. Simply copying answers
off another student will result in a zero for the assignment.
These or any other violation of the College’s policy on Academic Fraud will result in a score of
zero for the exam or assignment. The instructor may report the incident to the Assistant Dean of
Student Affairs, a process which could lead to suspension or expulsion from the College. More
information can be found online at: http://www.grossmont.edu/copyrightandplagiarism/. It’s
imperative that you understand the policies; if you are in violation, pleading ignorance will not be
considered a viable excuse. If you have any questions or concerns about academic fraud,
please don’t hesitate to talk to me.
Statement on Accommodation
Students with disabilities who may need accommodations in this class are encouraged to
contact the Disabled Students Programs and Services (DSP&S) early in the semester so that
reasonable accommodations may be implemented as soon as possible. Students may contact
DSP&S in person in Room 110 or by phone at (619) 644-7112 (voice) or (619) 644-7119 (TTY
for Deaf).
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Tutoring Resources on campus
Students requiring reinforcement of concepts or additional help to achieve the stated learning
outcomes for a course are referred to enroll in IDS 198, Supervised Tutoring. To add these
courses, students must obtain Add Codes from the appropriate staff. Please refer to the
Tutoring Section in the current class schedule for contact information. Supervised Tutoring
courses that may be relevant for this course include ESL, Tech Mall, the Reading Annex, and
Biology. All Supervised Tutoring courses are non-credit/non-fee. However, when a student
registers for a supervised tutoring course, and has no other classes, the student will be charged
the usual health fee.
A few final notes…
 I realize that personal crises such as extended illness and family emergencies can arise
during the course of the semester. If you find yourself in difficult circumstances, it is
imperative that you get in touch with me as soon as possible. I will look at each
individual circumstance and work with you to resolve the issue. If you are personally
unable to contact me, have a friend or family member do it. If I don’t hear from you,
there is very little that I can do after the fact.
 I welcome any constructive feedback in helping you achieve a more effective learning
experience this semester. Feel free to email me or put an anonymous note in my faculty
mailbox to communicate this.
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Anthropology 131—Semester Schedule Spring 2012
(subject to change; any changes announced in class)
Date
Topic
Jan 25
Feb 1
Physical Anthropology and the
Scientific Method
DNA structure and function
Feb 8
Cell biology
2, 4
Feb 15
Feb 22
Principles of Inheritance
Forces of Evolution
5
6
Feb 29
Human Skeleton I
7
March
7
March
14
March
21
March
28
April 4
Human Skeleton II
7
Multiple Choice Quiz 1
Forensic Anthropology
8
Practical Quiz 1
Primate classification
9, 10
Practical Quiz 2
Primate classification & behavior
10, 11
Multiple Choice Quiz 2
April 11
Lab Manual
Chapters
1
2 and 3
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April 25
Bipedalism and comparative ape
and human anatomy
13
May 2
Early hominin evolution
13
May 9
May 16
Human brain evolution
The genus Homo
Read Chap. 1 as soon as
possible
Chaps 2-3 available on
wordpress as pdf’s
You must have purchased your
lab manual by now!
NO CLASS – SPRING BREAK
Spring Break
Primate Behavior
Zoo Field trip—details to follow
Primate Evolution
April 18
Notes
NO CLASS – AT THE ZOO!
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Handout
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Practical quiz 3; Primate
Observation Lab due
Multiple Choice Quiz 3; Last day
to turn in extra credit
Take-home final due today!
*With the exception of Week 1, you should have completed the reading by the
corresponding date listed.
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