Course content will be conveyed through lectures. Extensive use will be made of human skeletal elements and casts of fossil hominid discoveries at relevant points in the class presentations. Videos and slides will also be used to present course material.
- Introduction to Anthropology and Physical Anthropology
- The Development of Evolutionary Theory
- The Biological Basis of Life and Heredity and Evolution
- Introduction to Primatology: The Living Primates and Primate Behaviour
- Macroevolution and the Fossil Primates
- Human Osteology.
- Early Fossil Hominins of the Plio-Pleistocene
- Homo Erectus
- Homo Sapiens– Neanderthal and Modern
- Contemporary Human Physical Adaptability and Variation
At the conclusion of the course the successful student will be able to:
- Discuss scope and goals of physical anthropology, and its place within and contributions to the broader discipline of anthropology.
- Discuss the major subfields of physical anthropology and the research techniques employed by each.
- Outline the major theories of biological evolution, from Darwin and Mendel to the modern synthesis.
- Identify major skeletal elements of the human body.
- Discuss the importance of studies of our closest relatives, the non-human primates, to the understanding of human biology and evolution.
- Discuss the hominid fossil record: how it is formed, major discoveries and interpretations, and the limitations inherent in the data.
- Assess the major techniques of dating fossil discoveries and their limitations.
- Discuss modern human physical diversity and theories on the adaptive value of such inherited traits.
Evaluation will be based on course objectives and will be carried out in accordance with Douglas College policy. The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific criteria during the first week of classes.
Instructors may use a student’s record of attendance and/or level of active participation in the course as part of the student’s graded performance. Where this occurs, expectations and grade calculations regarding class attendance and participation will be clearly defined in the Instructor Course Outline.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme would be:
| Exams (3 x 25% each) | 75% |
| Quizzes (2 x 5% each) | 10% |
| Short Paper (on a specific aspect of interpreting the fossil record) | 10% |
| Attendance and Participation | 5% |
| Total | 100% |
Texts will be updated periodically. A typical example would be:
- Jurmain, R., H. Nelson, Kilgore, L. & Trevathan, W. (2011). Essentials of Physical Anthropology (8 ed.). Wadsworth.