ANTH E-162 Human Evolution Spring 2011 Syllabus

Dr. Russell Greaves Harvard Extension School Department of Human Evolutionary Biology Harvard University, Cambridge, MA Wednesdays 5:30-7:30 pm phone: 617-628-0315 (home) 617-495-2288 (office) email: rgreaves@fas.harvard.edu rustygreaves@yahoo.com Text: The following text is required: Boyd, Robert and Joan B. Silk 2009 How Humans Evolved, 5th edition. W. W. Norton & Co., New York. Additional required readings, recommended, or supplemental materials will be placed on reserve at Grossman Library or on the course iSite. Course Overview: This course examines the fossil, genetic, and archaeological record of human evolution, providing a comprehensive survey of our biological and behavioral changes from early australopithecines to the emergence of modern humans. In order to understand the unique aspects of human success, there is a rich comparative field of work across several disciplines within human evolutionary biology that looks at how evolution has shaped our particular physical and mental capabilities. Important topics to be covered include hominin interactions with changing environments, bipedality, increased brain size, tool use, social behavior, mating, language, other physical and behavioral adaptations, and the geographic expansions of hominins out of Africa. The course provides a fundamental understanding of evolutionary theory and its relevance for studying the human past. The course briefly addresses the earlier developments in primate evolution before the appearance of lineages potentially ancestral to humans. The majority of the course examines the emergence, biological changes, and adaptations of the australopithecines and the genus Homo over the last 4 million years. Human evolution not only addresses where our species came from in the past. It helps us understand how evolution has shaped the organisms we are now, negotiating rapid environmental, dietary, health, and behavioral changes that are novel challenges to the conditions our bodies and brains developed to confront.

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Class Schedule and Required Readings Week 1 January 26 Introduction A Special Ape: What We Want to Know About Human Evolution? Boyd & Silk, Chapter 1 & 4 Week 2 February 2 CLASS CANCELLED DUE TO SNOW Week 3 February 9 Evolutionary Theory: Why We Still Read Darwin Boyd & Silk, Chapters 2 & 3 Week 4 February 16 Apes & Monkeys: Fossils and the Living Primates Boyd & Silk, Chapters 5 & 9 research paper topic due Week 5 February 23 The Origin of the Australopithecines Boyd & Silk, Chapters 6 & 10 Week 6 March 2 Biological & Behavioral Differences in Homins vs. Other Primates Boyd & Silk, Chapter Chapter 16 Fossil Laboratory 1 Week 7 March 9 Tools, Brains, Bipedality, or Social Contract: Is There Something that Makes us Uniquely Human Boyd & Silk, Chapters 7 & 11 Origins of the Genus Homo Boyd & Silk, Chapter 12 March 16 No Class-Spring Break
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Class Schedule and Required Readings Week 8 Monday, March 21: Take-Home exam available on the course iSite March 23 Homo erectus: Are we Human Yet? Rightmire 1998 Take-Home Exam 1 due by the beginning of class Week 9 March 30 Early Homo: What Behaviors are Behind the Brains? Tattersall , Chapters 15 & 19 Week 10 April 6 Archaic Homo and the Neanderthals; Our Big-Brained Brawny Brethren Boyd & Silk, Chapter 12 Stringer and Gamble 1993 Week 11 April 13 Anatomically Modern Humans: Out of Africa Again Boyd & Silk, Chapter 13 paper outline due Week 12 April 20 Modern Behavior: Is it Art Yet? Boyd & Silk, Chapters 8 & 15 Fossil Laboratory 2 Week 13 April 27 Modern Human Biological Diversity: Is Anything More Than Skin Deep? Boyd & Silk, Chapter 14 Week 14 May 4 Behavior of Contemporary Humans: One Species & Many Ways of Making a Living Richerson & Boyd 2008

Wednesday May 11, 5:30-7:30 pm Final Exam research paper due by the beginning of class

Class Requirements and Grading Grading: Your grade will be based on two exams, one short research paper, and class participation. Exam 1 is a takehome mid-term. Exam 2 will be administered as the final exam. Each exam will be worth 25% of your final grade. The research paper will be worth 30% of your final grade. The two fossil laboratories will each include one short inclass assignment that you will complete while examining the fossil casts. Each in-class laboratory exercise will be worth 10% of your final grade. If you have a legitimate reason for missing an examination you must contact me prior to the exam dates to determine an appropriate alternative. If it is necessary to curve the grade distribution this will be done at the end of the course after all of the exams have been taken. Your final grade will never be lowered by curving the grade distribution. Exams: Examinations will be based on assigned readings and material presented during classes. The exams will primarily cover materials from each section of the course, but you are expected to retain concepts learned earlier. The take home mid-term examinations will require a couple focused exercises to construct short, synthetic answers to important questions about how we study hominin evolution. The final examination will be a combined format (short identifications, fill in the blank) and a choice of one of two essay questions will evaluate your understanding of synthetic topics, concepts, and relationships about important issues in human evolution based on readings and class presentations. Fossil Cast Laboratories There are two scheduled laboratories where you will have the opportunity to examine casts of actual hominin fossils. These are high quality, research cast reproductions of the original fossils and are to be treated with the utmost care. The laboratories will take place during scheduled class meetings. Because of the logistical arrangements needed to make these materials available, you MUST attend each of these laboratories. There will not be make-up laboratories. During the laboratories, you will examine a series of casts to be able to clearly identify characteristics relevant to understanding differences in groups of fossil homins. You are required to adhere to careful examination protocols to assure that no fossil casts are damaged. A short written assignment will accompany each laboratory where you will answer pertinent questions about fossil morphology based on examination of several documented fossils and one or two unidentified specimens.

ANTH E-162 Human Evolution

Research Paper: You must write one short (5 page) research paper. I will provide a list of possible topics on the class website before the second class meeting (February 2) to assist you in selecting appropriate aspects of hominin evolution for your research. Hardcopies also will be available at the second class. Students will select their research topics and submit their choice no later than the fourth class meeting, February 16. The subject of these papers must be submitted to me for approval. You may select a topic other than those suggested provided you consult with me and I approve your understanding of the topical scope. I will provide you with initial reference materials for your topics during the fifth class. Each research paper will be no longer than five pages of double spaced text. An outline of your paper is due by the eleventh class meeting on April 13. The paper is due no later than the date of the final exam (May 11, 2011). The research paper allows you to select a topic of interest that you wish to investigate. Any appropriate topic within the field of human evolutionary study can be selected according to your interest. You must submit the topic and at least three (3) references to me for approval by the fourth class meeting (February 16). I want you consult with me so that I can make certain that your research trajectory is appropriate, that you have located germane research materials, to be sure that there will not be competition for resources among people writing on similar topics, and so that I can suggest reference materials that you may want to use. Research materials must come from the professional, not popular, literature. Papers will be written so that they have a clear introduction, a body of argument discussing the strengths and weaknesses of the various approaches to your subject, and a conclusion that states your position. These papers are NOT to be book reviews, simple restatements of the books' or articles' contents. This assignment is an exercise in critical thinking and writing. You will be graded on how effectively you present your evaluations of the relevance, scientific rigor, and creativity of the materials you choose to use in examination of topics of significance about human evolution. I will assist you in locating appropriate journals or books. I also will provide a detailed assignment sheet that outlines procedures for selecting meaningful articles and books, acceptable writing form, and citation formats. I suggest that you consult with me about your paper at least twice during the semester. I can be reached by phone at my home, or through e-mail. Class Attendance: It is the student's responsibility to attend class punctually and regularly. Attendance of classes is required to obtain full credit for this course. Examinations will be based on materials presented in class and discussions of your readings. The instructor will not drop any student for non-attendance. As a courtesy to other students, please turn off any cell phones during class and refrain from using them during the class period.
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Academic Honesty: Student performances on examinations and the research paper are expected to conform to Harvard University Extension School's policies on academic honesty, as outlined in the Extension Schools website as part of your registration agreement (http://www.extension.harvard.edu/policies/responsible.jsp#integrity). Especially in relation to problems of downloading material from the Internet, please consult Writing with Sources, prepared by Harvard's Expository Writing Program (http://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/icb/icb.do). Any student who is found in violation of academic honesty policies will be disciplined in accordance with the Extension Schools Administrative Boards regulations and procedures. It is your responsibility to assure that your work does not involve cheating or plagiarism. Plagiarism includes not only copying text written by someone else, but also taking credit for someone else's work, paraphrasing, and failure to cite the source of information. Be extremely careful when taking notes on readings that you clearly mark sections that you take verbatim from text, or that you have closely paraphrased. Handicaps or Learning Disabilities: Any student with a disability that would affect your ability to complete class assignments, to take exams using standard testing procedures, or affect other aspects of performance in this course must contact the disability services coordinator for the Division of Continuing Education, in order to document your situation and establish appropriate accommodations. Please review the complete information available online (see below) or contact the disability services coordinator directly with the information below. As your instructor, I cannot authorize alternative accommodations for coursework or assignments without the review, approval, and recommendations of the disability services coordinator. Disability Services Coordinator 51 Brattle Street Cambridge, MA 02138 617-495-0977 (voice) 617-495-9419 (TTY) 617-495-3662 (FAX) disabilities@dcemail.harvard.edu Harvard Extension School information on Disability Services and links: http://www.extension.harvard.edu/resources/disability.jsp