Dr. David Webb DF 26

MWF 11:00-11:50 683-4245

Anthropology 274: Human Evolution

Course Objectives:

To introduce the student to the modern theory of evolution (and its variants) and to some of the techniques used to discover the paths which evolution has taken. To familiarize the student with the biochemical, morphological and fossil evidence for human evolution and with the controverseys among human evolutionary biologists.

Required Texts:

Meikle, W. Eric and Sue Taylor Parker, eds., Naming Our Ancestors: An anthology of hominid taxonomy, Waveland Press, Prospect Heights, IL, 1994.

Ciochon, Russell L. and John G. Fleagle, eds., The Human Evolution Source Book, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1993.

Course Outline: Reading

I. What is human?

A. Taxonomy..................................................................................... M&P: pp.1-18

B. Who are our relatives?.......................................................................... C&F: 2, 4

II. What is evolution?

A. Science & Culture

1. What is science?

2. What is evolution?

3. The Great Debate: Evolution vs. Creation

4. Development of Ev/y Th/y

5. Interpreting the Past & Present................................................... C&F: 23

B. The Little Picture: Genetics

1. Chromosomal genetics

2. Molec. Gen/ics

C. The Big Picture: Evolutionary Processes

1. Population genetics

2. Speciation

III. Geology

A. Geological Time Scale................................................................... C&F: p.70-73

B. Taphonomy

IV. The Fossil Evidence

A. Pre-hominids: Paleocene to Miocene

B. Hominidae

Hominid Origins........................................................................ C&F: 21, 22

Homo neanderthalensis (1856)............................ M&P: 1; C&F: 50, 52, 54

Homo erectus (1891-2).......................................................... M&P: 2, 8, 13;

....................................................................................... C&F: 34, 36, 39

Piltdown (1908-11)

Australopithecus africanus (1925)................................................... M&P: 5

A. (Paranthropus) robustus/boisei/aethiopicus (1938)..................................

............................................................... M&P: 6, 7, 10, 12; Black Skull;

.................................................................................. Drimolen; C&F: 13

Homo habilis (1964), Big Brains and Stone Tools.................. M&P: 11, 15;

................................................................... C&F: 14, 32, 33; “A. garhi”

“Lucy” and A. afarensis (1974).................................................... M&P: 14

Laetoli (1977) and Bipedalism..................... handout (National Geographic);

............................................................................... C&F: 6,17, 18, 21, 22

Homo sapiens: Out-of-Africa or Multi-regional?................ C&F: 46, 47, 48

The Search for the Earliest Hominid: The last 15 years

Course Requirements:

There will be several homework assignments during the semester. Each one will be given a specific number of points, and the points earned on each one will be added to the next in-class exam. There will be three exams: two preliminary exams at about one-third and two-thirds of the way through the semester, and a final during Finals Week. On the last Monday of the semester, a term paper of about 15 pages, on a particular hominid site, is due. The course grade will consist of four equal parts: the three exams and the term paper. Finally, there will be a required fieldtrip, to the American Museum of Natural History, on a weekend to be determined.