ANT 140
Evolutionary Anthropology

Evolutionary anthropology deals with questions of how evolution has shaped who we are today. Human beings, in all their uniqueness, are the result of a long evolutionary process and it is critical to utilize evolutionary perspectives when evaluating theories about human nature and so-called human universals. The course begins with an overview of relevant evolutionary processes and then briefly examines key events in the human fossil record. Further clues of our evolutionary past can be gleaned from a consideration of non-human primates with whom we share a recent ancestry as they provide a baseline for aspects of biology and behavior in the evolution of the human lineage. We can then begin to explore the modern human condition and tackle issues as diverse as the energetics of intelligence, why humans are such sweaty, thirsty, naked animals, the significance of tool making and taming fire, sex and gender, mitochondrial Eve and global dispersal, evolution of food choice, plagues and people, the mystery of Neanderthals, the biology of violence and cooperation, and other relevant topics. The ultimate goal is to develop a framework in which we can begin to evaluate human variability and diversity.

Last taught Spring '05 - Syllabus

ANT 190s
Freshman Seminar - Human Origins: Searching the fossil record

Understanding our origin has long been an agenda of philosophers, theologians, anatomists, and naturalists, and early theories generated were rooted primarily in conceptual contructs. Speculation was a key feature in most of these narratives. The recognition and discovery of a human fossil record has occurred only recently and the wealth of fossil data that has been collected, especially during the last 30 years has revolutionized our perspectives of the early evolutionary stages of our lineage. While major questions have been answered, many still remain, and contemporary scientific explanations continue to be influenced by preconceptions and traditional views. In this course, we will examine how the fossil record has reshaped our understanding of our evolution during the last 5 million years, narrative aspects of these scientific inquiries, and major controversies which have been played out in interpretations of the data collected primarily from the East and South African fossil records.

Last taught: Spring '02 - Syllabus

ANT 201
Concepts and Methods in Biological Anthropology

Biological Anthropology offers a broad perspective for studying the adaptation and evolution of the human species. While this course acknowledges the integration of a biological and cultural approach to the study of modern Homo sapiens, the focus will be on biological perspectives. Lectures and laboratory examine the role of evolutionary theory in biological anthropology, and study such topics as primate biology and behavior, primate evolution, the fossil evidence for human evolution, origin of modern humans, genetic evidence for biological variability, physiological evidence for adaptation to climate and altitude, the role of infectious disease in human evolution, and the role of nutrition and dietary preferences in human evolution. We will discuss the evidence used to interpret human adaptation in the past. How do anthropologists interpret behavior from an artifact of fossil remains? Why do some biochemists search for our ancestral ”Eve”? What can we learn about ourselves from the study of nonhuman primates? Does evolutionary biology tell us anything about complex modern human behavior? We will then utilize evolutionary and adaptive perspectives to examine fundamental aspects of the human species, beginning with human adaptability and plasticity, the evolution of culture and continuing with population differences in heritable adaptation to food resources, climate and disease.

Last taught: Spring '07 - Syllabus
Will be taught Spring '08

ANT 307s
Human Evolution

This course deals with scientific questions of human origins and evolution and what we think we know of our own ancestry over the past 6 million years. We will begin with an overview of the theory and techniques including evolutionary theory, paleontology, phylogenetic analyses, genetics and functional morphology and then move on to the laboratory where we will focus on examining fossil ape and hominin material from Africa. What specifically can we discern from fragments of the fossil record and what are the competing interpretations of this material. In developing a view of the early stages of the human lineage, we will briefly examine the evidence of fossil apes that may have some bearings on the earliest hominids and then carefully examine the nature of the hominid fossil record itself. By focusing the morphology and ecological reconstructions of fossil assemblages we can discern potential relationships between the various forms of fossil hominids as well aspects of their life history patterns, locomotor repertoire, behavior, and dietary constraints. We will touch on some of the major debates in paleoanthropology and provide a critical look at the historical perspectives that have influenced the interpretation of the fossil record.

Last taught: Fall '05 - Syllabus

ANT382/ENVS 382 (previously 385)
Ecological Context of Human Evolution

When Darwin first suggested that the evolution of the human lineage is linked to environmental change, he established a paradigm that remains central to most theories of human origins and adaptations. Adopting an ecological perspective, we will address the basic question of why and how humans evolved. This will involve a scrutiny of both biotic and abiotic factors that may have influenced the evolution of early hominids in East Africa including local and regional climatic change over the last 7 million years, aspects of past hominid ecosystems such as vertebrate and botanical turnovers, and tectonic upheavals. While retaining a broad perspective, we will focus on several key evolutionary events such as the origin of the human lineage, the adaptive radiation of hominids 3-2 million years ago during which our genus Homo arose, and origins of modern human populations. These goals require that we integrate anthropological, biological, ecological, and geological approaches to develop a paleoecological framework in which we can interpret the morphological and behavioral characteristics of both ancient and modern humans.

Last taught:Spring '04 - Syllabus

ANT 415
Methods in Biological Anthropology: Human paleodiets and paleoecology

Overlap of academic disciplines often proves to be fertile ground for innovative and novel approaches to addressing research questions. Such has been the case with the adoption of quantitative biochemical, geochemical, physiological, and ecological techniques by biological anthropologists. Approaches such as stable isotopic or trace element analyses have in the last decade contributed substantially to a number of anthropological research agendas such as paleodietary assessments, migratory patterns, ecological contest of human adaptations, and life history patterns. This course aims to provide an introduction to the challenge of designing, conducting, analyzing and writing up laboratory and field research in biological anthropology. It will include practical advice on how to develop feasible and interesting research objectives, select an appropriate research topic, design protocols for collection of quantitative data, and manage data during analysis and report writing. These objectives will be synthesized in the form of a grant proposal. Emphasis will be on examining biogeochemical case studies in the anthropological literature and an introduction to laboratory techniques and quantitative analyses.

Last taught: Spring '02 - Syllabus

ANT 503
Evolutionary Processes

The goal of this course is to develop a theoretical framework in evolutionary biology within which we can explore human evolution and ultimately aspects of modern human biology and behavior. We will begin with a broad, historical survey of the development of evolutionary theory and then focus on a number of key theoretical issues. Before going on to assess the extent to which evolutionary perspectives can shed light on modern human culture and biology, we will briefly examine the extent to which the application of evolutionary concepts enlighten us on the adaptive significance of key morphological innovations in early hominids as well as the utility of primate models for developing an evolutionary foundation for human behavior. These studies will provide biological continuity for assessing aspects of modern humans which are unique and allow us to identify specific topics on which we should converge. Towards the end of the course, we will examine aspects of human biology and culture that have been interpreted in an evolutionary context and evaluate the usefulness of applied evolutionary theory in the study of modern humans.

Last taught: Fall '07 - Syllabus