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ANTH1-Introduction
to Physical Anthropology
California State
University, Sacramento
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| Course Objectives | Assignments | Grades | |
| Reading Materials | Resources | Schedule |  |
Catalog Course Description
The place of humans in nature: geological environments; the nature of life; human evolution, reproduction, and genetics; humans as Primates; the human fossil record; the classification and distribution of races. 3 units. (CAN ANTH 2)Course Description
WELCOME TO ANTHRO 1! This syllabus contains important information about the course (e.g. course requirements, exam dates, etc.) so refer to it regularly throughout the semester.This course is an introduction to the science of physical anthropology (or, as many are now calling it human biology or evolutionary anthropology). As the concept of evolutionary change is central to biology, this course will focus upon the evidence regarding human evolution and the place of humans in nature. Topics discussed will include the nature of life; human reproduction and genetics; humans as primates; human evolution and the fossil record; the environmental context as inferred from the geological record; and the origin and meaning of human geographic variation
Credit: 3 Units - fulfills Area B2 (Biological Science) General Education Requirements.
Course Objectives
The course will present a synthesis of information from current research of the human fossil record; behavioral, genetic, and anatomical studies of the Primates (humans and our closest relatives- apes, monkeys and prosimians) to assist us in reconstructing the evolutionary history of humankind. It is a science class with an emphasis is on human biology. If you are a non-science major expect to have to work harder in this class than the courses in your own major.Topics covered fall into three areas of concentration:
1) Human Variation- the Scientific Method and the history of
the history of scientific thought regarding human origins; elementary principles and mechanisms of heredity and genetic change; basic cytogenetics, molecular genetics and population genetics; and the processes of speciation, and evolution in modern populations with an emphasis on human geographic variability, adaptation and plasticity. and ethical issues in physical anthropology.
.
2) Primatology - the comparative anatomy and relationships of humans
and non-human Primates; the social organization and behavior of living
Primates;
3) Paleoanthropology- the Primate and human fossil record; geological dating methods and environmental reconstruction; the realtionship between culture and evolution in the human lineage.
Attendance: Unless you have ESP, attendance in the lectures is highly recommended. Material on the exams, and questions on the reading assignments are based on attendance at lectures and reading assignments. What is emphasized in lecture is frequently emphasized on exams. Because of the rapidly changing nature and pace of discoveries in the field, some information may only be presented in lecture. Additionally, keeping a notebook allows the student to learn even more successfully.
An open mind and willingness to explore competing scientific theories.
For those who have concerns with evolutionary theory, I suggest a review
of the "Talk Origins" web site The following assignments are due on the dates indicated.
each
= 50% = 30 %
Total There will be three exams. Exams will consist of
objective questions (multiple-choice, fill-in, true/false, short answer).
A Scantron 882ES form is required. Material from both lectures, in-class
videos and textbook reading assignments up to the day of the quiz will
be presented. Examples of previous exams will be on reserve in the library.
Important! Make-Up Exams will only be allowed if the student
can provide documented evidence of an emergency (e.g. illness or accident).
The exam must be taken within three days of the scheduled exam or return
to class from illness at the Testing Center at 202 Lassen Hall. Appointments
for Make-up exams must be made immediately after the absence with Dr. Drawhorn.
Make up exams will contain different questions than the exam given in class.
Students will be required to answer questions from ten of the 36
assigned readings in Physical Anthropology: Annual Editions.
Assignments must be typed (12 point font), double-spaced with 1" margins.
The name of the author and title of the article must be included, and all
assigned questions must be answered. Responses should be in complete sentences and rewritten in your own words. I do not grade papers filled with quotes from the original author very favorably. Plagiarism ("unattributed quotations") will result in an F for the assignment. Both the original article and other student papers will be compared to detect plagiarised material.
Papers should be 1-2 pages long for each assigned article. Two reviews from the assigned readings up to the first midterm will be due on the day of Midterm 1. Two reviews from articles assigned for the second midterm will be due on the day of Midterm 2. Two reviews covering the remaining assigned articles will be due the last day of class. Reviews are due in class. Each article review is worth 5% of the final grade. 10 x 5% =50%
Four article reviews from readings in Units 1 and 6 will be due at the
first quiz.
Three article reviews from readings in Units 2-3 will be due at the
second quiz.
Three article reviews from readings in Units 4-5 will be due on the
final day of class.
All assignments are due in-class on the assigned due date. Late assignments
will be assessed a penalty of 10% of the points available from that assignment/day
late.
Extra Credit - All extra credit
is due by the last day of regular class (Friday May 17th) in class.
1) For each site document the site address, and the name of the site
and who sponsors it.
Report on these in the same format as your article reviews (typed, 12
point, 1" margins, double-spaced). You may earn a maximum of 5% extra credit
for this project.
Other extra credit possibilities (e.g. attending and reviewing a lecture) will be assigned throughout the semester. No More than a total 8% of a students Final Grade can be composed of extra credit material.
Late Work: Assignments are due in-class ! Not one hour after
class ! Please remember to schedule time to complete your paper assignments
before the due date. Assume that the school computers will be down the
day you need to complete the assignment! Late assignments will be subject
to a 10% penalty (out of the possible points) for being late on the day
of class. For each additional day late an additional 10% penalty shall
be applied. Late assignments should be turned into the Anthropology Office
(Rm 4010) by 5 P.M or placed in the "drop-box" outside the office.] 1) Introduction to Physical Anthropology by R. Jurmain, H. Nelson,
L. Kilgore and W. Treviathan. (1999: 8th edition)
2) Physical Anthropology Annual Editions 2001-2002 by E. Angeloni
(Dushkin/McGraw Hill 10th edition)
Reading assignments from required texts are noted on the weekly Course
Schedule. Assignments should be read prior to the lecture on the day the
assignment is listed. Readings in Jurmain are noted on the syllabus by
a "J" followed by the page numbers (e.g. “J 1-23). Readings in the Annual
Editions Reader are noted by Chapter # (e.g. “AE 1-4 )are Chapters 1-4
in the reader. Students are assigned approximately half the articles found
in the Annual Editions.
Students will be expected to be reasonably familiar with the subject
matter, personalities and discoveries mentioned in the text during class.
Good preparation reduces the amount of basic information (e.g. “How do
you spell ‘Darwin’?” ) needed to be covered in class, and allows the class
to move on to more interesting topics. Follow up the lecture with review
of your notes and readings to clear up any questions.
Recommended: Study Guide for Introduction to Physical Anthropology
You can purchase books through the Hornet
Bookstore.
Week 1 Introduction; Overview of Course; What is Physical Anthropology
and why is it worth knowing about? Scientific Method. Evolutionary Theories.
The Darwinian Revolution and Natural Selection; (J 1-42; AE Chapter 1,
2, 43)
Week 2 Mendel and the Principles of Inheritance "The Blind Clockmaker"
(J 73-89)
Week 3 The Sources, Organization and Inheritance of Genetic Variation
(J43-72; AE Chapter 41-42)
Week 4 Human Genetic Variation (J 90-104; AE 3-4)
Week 5 The Bio-Cultural Adaptation of H. sapiens (J387-467; AE
37-39)
Wednesday 2/27- Quiz #1 Article Assignments Due- Lecture:
Classification (J 105-119)
Week 6 Primate Origins: Prosimians ("Pre-Monkeys") and Anthropoids
(J 119-122; 197-212; AE 14) Video "Life In The Trees"
Week 7 Primate Origins: Anthropoids (J122-144; 213-224; AE 5,6,17,18)
Week 8 Primate Behavior: Territory and Ecology (J145-156; AE
10,12) Video "Monkey Island"
SPRING BREAK (3/25-3/29) /Cesar Chavez Day (4/1)
Week 9 Primate Behavior: Sex and Status; Video: "Mask of the
Mandrill” (J 157-170; AE 15, 16, 21, 22)
Week 10 The Apes and Models for Ancestral Human Behavior; Video
"The New Chimpanzee" (J 171-196; 455-463; AE 9, 11)
Friday 4/12- Quiz #2; Article Assignments Due
Week 11 Paleoanthropological Methods; Earliest Hominids and A. afarensis(J225-274; AE 23,24)
Week 12 Piltdown Man vs. South
Africa Ape-Men (J276-284)
Week 13 Early Homo: H. habilis and H.erectus (J 272-275
and 285-324; AE 25-29)
Week 14 The Archaics: Neanderthals and their contemporaries (J325-358;
AE 32-34)
Week 15 "Out-Of-Africa #2"-The Emergence of Modern Homo sapiens
(J 359-386; AE 30-31)
Friday 5/17 Article Reviews Due; Extra-Credit Due
Final Exam Friday 5/24; 8 - 10 AM
Assignment
Points
Date Due
Article
10 @ 5%
MIDTERMS
15 % each
FINAL
20 %
The two midterms will deal with a) Human Genetics
(Wednesday 2/27) and b) Primate Taxonomy/Behavior (Friday 3/29) , respectively.
Each midterm is worth 15% of the final grade. The final exam (Friday 2/24 at 8-10 AM) on Human Evolution will be comprehensive, but will have
a very strong emphasis on the material covered in the last 7 weeks of the
course. The final is worth 20% of the final grade
Exams = 50%
Article #1 ("The Growth of Evolutionary Science" - Futuyma)
Article #3 ("Curse and Blessing of the Ghetto" - Diamond)
Article #38 ("Racial Odyssey" - Rensberger)
Article #39 ("The Tall and Short of It" - Bogin)
Article #5 ("Machiavellian Monkeys"- Shreeve)
Article #6 ("What Are Friends For?" - Smuts)
Article #10 ("Dim Forest, Bright Chimps" -Boesch)
Article #23 ("Early Hominid Fossils"- Leakey and Walker)
Article #26 ("Scavenger Hunt" - Shipman)
Article #34 ("Who were the Neanderthals" -Wong)
Extra credit may be obtained by viewing and answering a set of questions
on selected videos available in the Library Media Center (LIB 1520).
Up to 2% Extra Credt may be obtained for each video. Questions should be
answered in the same format as responses to the Articles (typed, 12 point
font, 1" margins). The three videos are:
"The Blind Watchmaker"
"Life In the Trees"
"In Search of Human Origins: Surviving In Africa" . .
3
x 2% = 6% Extra Credit
Visit the two websites associated with the publishers of your textbooks.
See page 18 of Jurmain for the Wadsworth Anthropology Resource Center,
and pp. 4 of the Annual Editions for the Dushkin Online site. In addition
visit three of the WWW web sites listed on pp. 4-5 of Annual Editions.
2) Describe in one paragraph what the site provides topically
and in terms of materials and format (technical or oriented to the general
public, color photos, maps, links, when it was last updated, etc.).
3) Provide a printout of each of the first pages of the sites visited.
5 x 1%
= 5% Extra Credit :
Grades
A
Outstanding
90+ points
B
Excellent
80-89 points
C
Average
70-79 points
D
Passed,
60-70 points
F
Failure
< 60 points
Reading
Materials
Required:
Virtual Laboratories for Physical Anthropology by John Kappelman.
(This interactive CD-ROM is particularly useful supplement to the Jurmain
et
al text. Applicable labs are refered to by a CD icon in the margin
of the textbook. Those taking the Anthropology 1a, with a preference for
visual media, or those planning on becoming Anthropology majors may find
it particularly helpful. A copy of the Kappleman CD-ROM has been placed
on reserve in the Multi-Media Room of the Library.
Resources
A human skeleton and a copy of the Kappelman CD ROM is available for in-library use in the multi-media room
of the CSUS library. Examples of oler exams and reserved copies of the text are located in the reserve room of the library. The physical anthropology lab (MND 4011) has a number
of resources, including learning software and fossil casts that will be
available during office hours. The computer lab in MND 2008 has osteological
learning software developed by Dr. Heidecker of our own Department. Use
the "Y" drive,click on "toolbook", then "anthsolo" then "anth2.tbk" The
Physical Anthropology website (www.csus.edu/anth/physanth)
has a number of resources that students in this course will find invaluable
(e.g. images of the fossil hominid material used in this very class!!).
Check out the useful links and those noted in your textbook.
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Page updated: September 20, 2001