Anthropology 1

Anthropology 1
Fall, 2007
H. M. McHenry
Office Hours

Human Evolutionary Biology

The Purpose of Anthropology 1

"There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having originally breathed into a few forms or into one; and that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been and are being evolved."
Charles Darwin, Origin of Species, 1st ed.

The central focus of this class is the scientific study of human origins. We will approach this study by many lines of evidence in an attempt to form a single and total picture of the emergence of our species. First, we will look at the processes, the actual mechanisms, by which evolution works. This will involve a brief study of genetics and human variability. Second, we will deal with the primate background of Homo. We are primates and a lot can be learned about human origins from studying non-human primates. Finally, we will study the primary data itself: the fossil evidence of our evolution. All along the way we will try to see the meaning of evolution to our own lives and to our understanding of the nature of our species. One issue that is currently being raised again is the apparent conflict between the evolutionary and biblical views of human origins. Our purpose in this class is not to present an evolutionary dogma, but to evaluate the evidence upon which the evolutionary interpretation is based.

Instructor: Henry M. McHenry- Office Hours: Tu 10:30-11:30; Th 1:30-2:30 Office: 203 Young Hall

Requirements and Grading:
Laboratory/Discussion Section Participation: 10%
Midterms and pop quizzes: 35%
Final Exam: 20%
Essays (2): 35%

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Part I: Processes of Human Evolution




Sept. 27       	Lecture #1                                                         
                Introductory pontifications: what is physical anthropology
 		and why is it worth knowing about? (Jurmain et al. 2008, pp. 1-17; in the following
		lectures, all numbers refer to pages in this text).   
                                     
Oct. 2         Lecture #2  Overview of the Synthetic Theory of Evolution:  The discovery of the
		 antiquity of life, attempts to explain how it changed through time, the Darwinian
		 Revolution, the Mendelian critics, the synthesis of Darwinian and Mendelian ideas,
		 an overview of the current concept of the processes of organic evolution. (19-35)                        

Oct. 2 & 3      Lab/Discussion #1  Introduction to Human Heredity
                                                          

October 4 & 9  Lecture #3 & 4 Sources, Organization and Inheritance of Genetic Variation:
		(1)Production of genetic variation at the level of the DNA;
		(2)Production of genetic variation at the level of the organism;
		(3)Principles of inheritance and the production of genetic variation at the level of
		 the population. (37-84)

Oct. 9 & 10    Lab/Discussion #2 genetics 
                                                                                        
Oct. 11		Lecture #5 Reduction of Genetic Variation:
		(1) natural selection, examples of natural selection,
		(2) random reduction in genetic variation (genetic drift),
		(85-90)

Oct. 16		Lecture 6 Speciation and phylogeny (95-117).  

Oct. 16 & 17	Lab/Discussion #3 Genetic Drift.

Oct. 18		Lecture 7 Genetic Variation in Homo sapiens:  The concept of race and the adaptive
		significance of patterns of human variation. (379-419)


Oct. 23		First Midterm

Part II: Our Primate Background


Oct. 23 & 24	First Essay Due

Oct. 23 & 24	Lab/Discussion #4 Primates

Oct. 25 & 30	Lectures #8 & 9 Living Primates:  Homo Sapiens as a primate;
		 our place in nature; our closest cousins, the great apes; the catarrhines;
		 the platyrrhines; the prosimiians.  (122-153)

Nov. 1		Lecture #10 The Diversity of Social Systems in Nonhuman Primates
		(155-177)

Nov. 1 & 2	Lab/Discussion #5 Primate Behavior

Nov. 6		Lecture #11 The New Chimpanzee (film)

Nov.6 & 7	Lab/Discussion #6 Inclusive Fitness

Nov.8		Lecture #12 Ecology, Kinship and the Evolution of Primate Societies
		(181-199)

Nov.13		Second Midterm

Part III: The Course of Human Evolution


Nov. 13 & 14	Lab/Discussion #7 Fossil Ancestors 

Nov. 15		Lecture #13 Macroevolution and Our Earliest Ancestors:  Our place in nature,
		 speciation, processes of macroevolution, fossil primates and the origin of the
		 human evolutionary lineage. (203-233)

Nov. 20		Lecture #14 Our Family's First Steps:  The earliest species human species,
		 Bones, stone tools, paleo- environments,
		 behavior, the mosaic nature of human evolution. (235-279)

Nov. 27, 28	Second Essay Due

Nov. 28		Lecture #15 The origin of the Genus Homo (278-297)

Nov. 28 & 29	Lab/Discussion #8 First Humans 

Nov. 29 & Dec.4	Lectures #16 & 17 The Evolution of the genus Homo and the Peopling of
		 the Earth (297-377)

Dec. 4 & 5	Lab/Discussion #9 The Evolution of the genus Homo

Dec. 6		Lecture #18 Conclusions (438-445)


Dec. 11		Final Examination, 6-8pm

Required Reading:

Anthropology 1 Syllabus. Available at Navin's Copy Shop, 231 3rd Street, Davis.
Jurmain, Robert et al. (2008) Introduction to Physical Anthropology (11th Edition). Thomson Wadsworth.
Laboratory/Discussion Sections:
The purpose of the weekly laboratory/discussion section is to meet in a small group with a highly qualified graduate student teaching assistant (TA) so that you can ask questions and participate in a demonstration laboratory. There are “pre-laboratory assignments that you must complete and hand in at the beginning of each section. Their purpose is to insure that you have studied the written material before entering the laboratory so that your mind is well prepared.
Essays:
The purpose of the essay assignment is to develop your own thinking within the context of human evolutionary biology. It is one thing to learn the many details as presented in class and reading, and quite another to clearly and precisely express the logical unfolding of ideas based on these details.
The first essay assignment is divided into two parts. The first part (10% of course grade) is due in Lab/Discussion #4 (October 23, 24). It is to be no longer than 1000 words and it must be typed. It will be graded for content as well as for clarity. Clarity refers to organization, focus, development of ideas, style, and mechanics (grammar, spelling, etc.). The second part (10% of course grade) is a revised version of the same essay. This will be due one week after the first part is handed back. The second essay (15% of course grade) is due in Lab/Discussion #9 (Nov. 27 & 28).
Exams:
The purpose of the examinations is to inspire you to learn the material. There are two scheduled midterms worth 10% of the grade each, two unscheduled (“pop”) quizzes worth 5% of the grade each that will appear at the beginning of lecture to encourage you to keep up, and a comprehensive final exam worth 20% of the grade.