Anthropology 362: Human Paleontology |
Spring 2011 |
Class time: Tu (1:40-4:05), W (1:40-2:55) |
Professor: Kate Pechenkina, Ph. D. |
office: Powdermaker Hall 312A |
telephone: (718) 997-5529 |
fax: (718) 997-2885 |
e-mail: |
office hours: Tu 4 PM to 4:30 PM, Th 3:00 to 4:00 PM |
web-page |
Required Course Materials: |
Course Pack |
Course Description: An examination of the fossil evidence for human evolution. Instruction will be carried out using a variety of formats: lecture, class discussion and direct examination of hominid morphology using casts and powerpoint images. Paleoanthropology is an interdisciplinary field and information from primatology, ecology, archeology and geology will be synthesized with our observations of hominid morphology to provide a holistic view of hominid evolution. I hope that each student will gain an appreciation of the track that human evolution took. Rather than being an inexorable development of morphological form culminating with modern humans, the evolution of our family is marked by a great deal of natural experimentation. Diverse communities of hominids lived in the past, with our now extinct cousins often being more common than our direct ancestors. This class will examine this morphological diversity, to better understand the biological relationships, behaviors and adaptations of our extinct relatives, and to gain a deeper understanding of when the characteristics defining modern humans emerged. |
Course structure: Attendance is mandatory. Lectures will highlight material from the reading, but will not necessarily cover every topic in the articles. You are expected to have completed the assigned reading before lecture, so that you can make sense of the presented material and participate in class discussion. Lectures may include material that is not in the readings, and you are responsible for all material presented in lecture and covered in the assigned reading. This syllabus is a plan not a promise. You should expect modifications to the reading list as the semester progresses. |
Exams and Grading: Your grade will be based upon performance on lab assignments, five quizzes, two exams, and class participation. Class participation is essential for me to assess whether students are completing and comprehending the assigned reading, and to have effective seminar sessions. Late assignments submitted before the final examination will receive a maximum of 80% credit. |
The grade breakdown is as follows: |
20% Assignments |
20% Quizzes |
10% Class participation and readings |
25% Midterm exam: weeks 1-7 (3/22) |
25% Final exam (TBA) |
Lateness: Arriving late to class disrupts the lecture and is disrespectful to others. |
Syllabus | ||||
week | dates | topic | readings | quizzes and due dates |
1 | 2/1 2/3 | Introduction, Evolutionary Mechanisms Anatomy, review | Campbell Ch. 5:131-134 | |
2 | 2/8 2/10 | Timeline, origin of mammals Timeline continued; Primate Origin |
Xu et a. 2004 Campbell Ch. 5: 134-140 Delson and Tattersall 2007 | |
3 | 2/15 2/17 | Primates, Primate origins, monkeys Primate Evolution, Apes |
Franzen et al. 2009 Delson 2007 Kohler and Moya-Sola 2009 Campbell Ch 5 142-156 |
2/15:Quiz 1 (evolution-general concepts; timeline) |
4 | 2/22 2/24 | Hominins-intro, bipedality Mio-Pliocene Hominins | Wong 2003 Zollikofer 2005 Pickford et al. 2002 | |
5 | 3/01 3/03 | Ardipithecus Australopiths |
White et al. 2009 Lovejoy 2009 Ardipithecus !! Ardi's skeleton Campbell Ch 6 and 7 All |
3/01:Quiz 2 (primates, hominins) 3/03 Lab 1 is due |
6 | 3/08 3/10 | Australopiths continued Paranthropus/td> |
Asfaw et al. 1999 Wood 2006; Berger et al. 2010 White 2003; Wood and Constantino 2007 | |
7 | 3/15 3/17 |
Hominin behavior Review | Laden and Wrangham 2005 Rosenberg and Trevathan 1995; Teaford and Ungar 2000 |
10/17: lab 2 is due 10/15: Quiz 3 (Hominins) |
8 | 3/22 3/24 |
MIDTERM EXAMINATION The earliest Homo, H. habelis and H. rudolfensis | Tattersall and Schwartz 2007 Wood and Collard 1999 Leakey et al. 1964 | |
9 | 3/29 3/31 | The Oldowan technology The Oldowan technology, archaeological sites Homo ergasterand Homo erectus |
Plummer 2004 Gabunia et al. 2001 Schwartz 2004 | |
10 | 4/05 4/07 |
Homo erectus cntd. Homo antecessor |
Anton and Swisher 2004; Bermudez et al. 2004; Milton 1999; Carbonell et al. 2008 | 4/07 Quiz 4 (early Homo) |
11 | 4/12 4/14 | Homo floresiensis
AAPA meeting, no class | ||
4/19-4/26 Spring Recess! No classes | ||||
12 | 4/28 | Homo heidelbergensis | Rightmire 1998; Dennell 1997 | 4/28: lab 3 is due |
13 | 5/03 5/05 | Neanderthals Neanderthals cntd. | Lalueza-Fox 2010 Henry et al. 2010 |
|
14 | 5/10 5/12 | Origin of Anatomically modern humans Multiregional continuity vs. Single origin | White et al. 2003 Frayer et al. 1993 |
05/10: Quiz 5 (Neanderthals and Homo sapiens ) |
15 | 5/17 | The Human Revolution; Review | Stringer 2002 | 5/17: lab 4 is due |
FINAL EXAMINATION:
TBA |