Biological Anthropology (ANTH 101 – 80)
Southwestern College, Summer 2012
Professor Kate Teffer
Course Info:
TuTh 2 – 4:50 pm
San Ysidro HEC, room 5207
Contact info:
Email: kteffer@swccd.edu
Website:
http://kateteffer.wordpress.com
(but only until Blackboard is set up)
Office hours: By appointment only
(email me!)
Required text:
Stanford, Allen, & Anton. Exploring Biological Anthropology: the Essentials, 2nd Edition,
Pearson Prentice Hall
At bookstore or on reserve at the SYHEC library. Call # : GN25 S74 2010 x 101
Attendance:
 Students may be dropped when absences exceed 2 class periods, and will be
dropped when absences exceed 4 class periods BEFORE the final drop date
 However, students are responsible for officially withdrawing from classes they
are no longer attending. DO NOT assume that the professor will do this for you.
You will receive an F if you stop attending but do not withdraw.
 Students who are excessively tardy may be dropped from the course at the
instructor’s discretion. Excessive tardiness is defined as more than 3 tardies after
the first 2 weeks of class.
Description & Objectives:
Biological anthropology is a multifaceted science that explores what it means to be
human from a scientific and biological perspective, while also considering information
gleaned from the other subfields of anthropology: cultural, linguistic, and archaeology.
Topics included in the study of biological anthropology are the historical development of
the field, genetics, evolutionary theory, the study of primates, the fossil record of early
hominids, modern human population variation, and the evolution of human cognition
and culture. You may find that this course is very rigorous as it revolves around technical
terminology and concepts derived from the fields of genetics, medicine, archaeology,
among others. DO NOT BE AFRAID to look up words or concepts you are unfamiliar with
on Google or at the library and learn a little more. It can only help your grade! You must
be able to work with texts and write at a college level of vocabulary, grammar, and
comprehension.
Course policies:
 You must regularly attend class meetings. Attendance is taken at the beginning
of class every day.
 Disruptive or disrespectful students may be removed from the course.
 Make-ups for exams will be allowed only in the case of a verifiable medical
condition sufficiently debilitating to prohibit attendance in class (written
documentation will be required). Personal or family situations are not eligible
for make-up exams.
 Please email me with questions you may have, or to let me know if you will be
absent. Email is by far the best way to reach me. However, if you email me with
questions that can be answered by reading the syllabus (Such as: When is a
particular test? How many points is this assignment worth? What is my grade?) I
will not answer, and I will dock 5 points from your final points total for each
email violating this policy.
 We will occasionally watch videos in this class to supplement instruction and to
illustrate key points. This is NOT a time to sleep, text, or in any way tune out.
Taking notes is strongly recommended. Material from videos will appear on
tests.
 If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to make up the material you have
missed, not mine. Exchange contact information with your classmates in the
first weeks of class and get in touch to borrow notes when you must miss a class.
 We are covering a semester’s worth of material in 9 weeks; KEEP UP! You may
be surprised by how easy it is to fall behind in a summer class.
Grading:
 Will be assigned on a straight percentage of cumulative point basis:
90% = A, 80-89% = B, 70-79% = C, 60-69% = D, Below 60% = F
 There is no curve. Keep your exams and papers and keep track of your own
grade.
 Your understanding of the material will be evaluated through 2 midterm exams,
1 final, and 3 quizzes. All tests will consist of a series of multiple choice and T/F
type questions, with some short answers on the midterms & final.
 Midterms and the final are worth 100 points each. The three quizzes are worth
25 points each. The maximum points possible for the course are 375.
 The final exam is cumulative for the entire course. Midterm #1 covers material
from 6/5 to 6/19. Midterm #2 covers material from 6/21 to 7/12/. Quizzes will
only test you on material that is new since the last test.


There are NO make-ups on any of the tests except in case of documented
medical illness or emergencies.
You MUST take the final. If you do not show up for the final exam, you will
receive an F in the course.
Students requesting accommodations:
SWC Office of Disability Support Services recommends that students with disabilities
discuss academic accommodations with their professors during the first two weeks of
class.
Plagiarism and cheating:
Don’t do it! It isn’t worth it. Plagiarism and cheating are violations of academic honestly.
All violations and suspected violations of academic honesty will result in action taken
against the parties involved. Sanctions may include no credit on an assignment or exam,
course failure, or formal charges of student misconduct resulting in probation,
suspension, or expulsion from the college, at the discretion of the instructor.
Course Schedule
This schedule is subject to change if I deem necessary. Changes will be announced in
class and posted online. Readings are due for the day listed.
Week Date
1
2
3
4
5
6
6/5
6/7
6/12
6/14
6/19
6/21
6/26
6/27
7/3
7/5
7/10
7/12
7
8
9
Topic
Intro to biological anthropology
Intro to genetics & evolution
Genetics
How evolution works
Primates
Primate behavior
Primate cognition
Early primate evolution
The Ape-human transition
Early hominids & the genus Homo
The genus Homo, continued, and
Neandertals
Neandertals & the dispersal of H.
sapiens
7/17
Evolution of the brain & language
7/19
Evolution of human behavior
7/24
Modern human variation
7/26
Biomedical anthropology
7/31
Forensic anthropology
8/2
Final Exam
Reading
Assignment
Chapter 1, ASAP
Chapters 2 & 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Quiz 1*
Midterm 1**
Quiz 2*
Chapter 12
Chapters 12 & 13
Midterm 2**
Chapter 14 pg.
359-374
Chapter 14 pg
375-383
Chapter 6
Chapter 15 pg.
385 - 402
Chapter 15 pg.
403 - 418
Quiz 3*
* = bring Scantron
** = bring Scantron and piece of notebook paper
Other important dates:
Last day to add – June 7th
No W drop date – June 13th
Last day to drop – July 19th
Other
Final**
Keep track of your own grades! I will not calculate your grade for you. I also am not
allowed to discuss grades over email (Family Education Rights & Privacy Act regulations).
If you have questions about your grade, you should discuss them with me in person.
Here, you can keep track of all your graded assignments up to the final.
Test
Quiz 1
Midterm 1
Quiz 2
Midterm 2
Quiz 3
Your Score
Total Points
Possible
25
100
25
100
25
Your
Cumulative
Points
Total
Cumulative
Points
Possible
25
125
150
250
275
Your
Cumulative
Percentage