Physical Anthropology
Anthro 1

Brief Course Description
This introductory anthropology course focuses on the evolutionary development of the human capacity for culture and its subsequent effects on human biology. We will review the relationship between humans and other animals; our origin and antiquity; fossil prehumans and humans; principles of heredity and population genetics; the question of human "race" and "racial" distinctions; and the laws of synthetic evolution. At the end of the term we will consider possible scenarios for the future of the human species, both biologically and culturally, based on projections of current trends, policies, and world views.

This course concerns the human past, where we originated, and the phases we went through on the path to our modern forms in terms of both biological and cultural evolution.

As a result of taking this course, you should be able to:

1. construct the human family tree and show our relationship to our nearest animal relatives;
2. identify the biological and social criteria which are unique to humans;
3. compare and contrast prosimians, monkeys, apes, and humans in scientific terms;
4. understand how, why, when, and where archeological excavations are done;
5. identify and describe human lithic industries from the earliest to modern examples;
6. locate and discuss the most important archeological sites for early humans on a world map;
7. explain the processes of biological evolution showing how these processes "create" evolutionary change;
8. discuss the scientific evidence for human physical variation seen today;
9. discuss the correlation between human biology, adaptation, and culture;
10. perform successfully in subsequent courses in human biology and/or anthropology; and
11. understand and be able to conduct basic physical anthropology laboratory analyses regarding ourselves, and both prehistoric and historic primate subjects.