Anth 151 is primarily a lecture and tutorial class, with hands-on examination of facsimile human remains and other lab-based activities conducted in tutorials.

Technology used and required:

Students will need to have access to the iLearn section, as handouts, FAQs, video links, and a host of other resources will be available through iLearn. The online discussion sections for Anth 151 historically have been very active as students help each other to understand key concepts. The unit convenor makes extensive use of online slides, videos, Prezis, and other resources.

For the purpose of taking online exams at the midterm and final, we strongly recommend that you find some access to a high-speed internet connection. At times, iLearn has been known to be slow to reset (and save your answers), and this can get worse with a bad connection. Students in the past (only one or two last year) reported that this was very stressful as they were not certain that there answers were being recorded successfully. If possible, schedule to be on a high-speed connection, especially for the midterm exam.

Lecture times

Lectures are offered twice. Wednesdays from 4 to 6 pm in Y3A T1 and Thursdays from 3 to 5 pm in E7B T4. Students are encouraged to attend lectures, but if scheduling or unforseen circumstances are an issue, all lectures are taped and slide shows (including video links and other materials) made available through iLearn.

Teaching and Learning Strategy

The course as a whole is designed to convey the excitement, theoretical innovation, and new discoveries emerging in the study of human evolution.  A clearer understanding of evolutionary processes allows students to appreciate the role of evolution in shaping humans and other organisms and to better evaluate contemporary arguments that make use of evolutionary theory or research.  By the end of the unit, students should have a greater appreciation of the diversity of methods used to study human evolution, some of the most important debates within the field, and the distinctiveness of human beings among animals. 

The course provides an excellent foundation for further, more specialized study in anthropology at the 200-level, but it also provides a robust understanding of human evolution that might contribute to students’ continued study of such fields as health, psychology, politics, Aboriginal studies, and a host of other specialties. Although each week focuses roughly on a different time period in human evolution, the issues brought up in each will be extended to contemporary human life. 

For example, although the discussion of Technology in Week Eight focuses on the emergence of complex stone tools, especially the contrast between Neandertal material culture and the technology of comparable archaic Homo sapiens, we will also discussing how technological innovation affects the evolutionary development of humans up until the present. By examining how we came to be as a species, our ancestors and nearest relatives, we come to a deeper understanding of human nature itself, including the variation that exists within our species—both biological and cultural. 

Evolutionary theory is one of the most powerful explanatory mechanisms for understanding all life, but it is also prone to being abused; the thorough background provided in this unit may lead students to be more sceptical around certain types of evolutionary arguments without repudiating evolutionary theory itself. In addition, this unit on evolution and diversity provides a foundation for thinking about the relationship of culture to biology, of nature to nurture, and of psychology to social life. 

The questions posed by the origins of humanity are too big and difficult to solve with only half the evidence at our disposal, so we will become better practiced at understanding human holistically, one of the most important characteristics of anthropology. Students will do best if they realise that, to some degree, many of the key issues in the evolutionary history of our species and in the nature of our species' diversity are still subject to debate, although anthropologists and other scientists may agree on the broader outlines.

Information

Extensive support materials are provided through iLearn. Please consult iLearn with initial questions as the students are likely to find many resources there

Changes since the last offering of this unit. 

The unit is largely the same as the version offered with high student satisfaction in 2011. The assessment tasks have been reweighted in importance to reflect student feedback, especially about the weighting of the Outline essay assessment and the first quiz (as well as the equal weighting of midterm and final suggested by students).

The online video tutorials, including those about the assessment tasks, are new for this year (2012).

Tutorial program (please see reader or iLearn for full list of readings):

Summary of Tutorial Programme Note: No meeting the first or seventh weeks! Tutorial One: Evolutionary dynamics and adaptation Gould, Stephen Jay, and Elisabeth S. Vrba.  1982.  ‘Exaptation—a missing term in the science of form.’  Paleobiology 8(1): 4-15. Tutorial Two: Our nearest primate relatives: skulls, ‘culture’? ‘A Guide to the Cultures of Chimpanzees.’  From Scientific American 2001, Vol. 284. Tutorial Three: Traces in the ash: the Laetoli footprints Laetoli footprint materials. Tutorial Four: Food for thought: the evolution of diet Leonard, William R.  2003.  ‘Food for Thought: Dietary Change Was a Driving Force in Human Evolution.’  Scientific American (updated from December 2002): 62-71. Tutorial Five: Mating strategies: the evolution dating game Small, Meredith F.  1997.  ‘Our Babies, Ourselves.’ Natural History Magazine (October):  42-51 (reprinted in Annual Editions: Anthropology 06/07, pp. 100-106) together with accompanying sidebars by LeVine et al.). Tutorial Six: Stone tools Foley, Robert, and Marta Mirazón Lahr.  2003.  ‘On Stony Ground: Lithic Technology, Human Evolution, and the Emergence of Culture.’  Evolutionary Anthropology 12: 109-122. Tutorial Seven: Reinventing language Diamond, Jared M.  1991.  ‘Reinvention of Human Language.’  Natural History 5/91: 22-28.  Reprinted in Through the Looking Glass: Readings in General Anthropology.  Second edition.  2000.  Pp. 26-35. Tutorial Eight: Out of Africa Jurmain, Robert, Lynn Kilgore, and Wenda Trevathan, with Russell L. Ciochon.  2008.  The Origin and Dispersal of Modern Humans.  In Introduction to Physical Anthropology.  Eleventh edition.  Pp. 352-377.  Thomson-Wadsworth. Tutorial Nine: Out modern ecological niche Mann, Charles.  2002.  ‘1491.’  The Atlantic Monthly (March): 1-13. Tutorial Ten: Is race a useful concept? George W. Gill and Jonathan Marks.  1998 and 1994.  ‘Issue 1: Is Race a Useful Concept for Anthropologists?’  In Taking Sides: Clashing Views on Controversial Issues in Anthropology.  Third edition.  Kirk M. Endicott and Robert L. Welsch, eds.  Pp. 2-15.  Dubuque, Iowa: McGraw-Hill/Dushkin. Tutorial Eleven: Modern selective pressures Ward, Peter.  2009.  ‘What Will Become of Homo sapiens?’ Scientific American 300 (1): 68-73.

Two lectures are available for Anth 151. See the online course catalog for times.

See iLearn for a complete listing of lecture topics, readings, and other materials.