TENTATIVE SYLLABUS

 

 

Introduction to Physical Anthropology

ANTH 2301 

 

 

 

Instructor:  Mary H. Chipley, Ph.D.

Office Hours:                                                                                               as announced

 

 

Mobile phone:      413-4868

Messages:            I check messages throughout the day; email once in the evening. 

E-mail:                  drchipley@yahoo.com   

website:                http://austincc.edu/mchipley

 

 

Course Description:

Physical Anthropology is an introduction to the study of the biocultural diversity of humans.  The interaction between culture and biology produces a variety of human biological adaptations that are traced through the following venues:  the fossil record of primates, primate behavior, and the genetic makeup of modern populations.

 

Course Rationale:

This course is designed to provide students with an understanding of the methods and theories of physical anthropology that will allow students:

•     to apply anthropological knowledge and skills to everyday life and their chosen careers

•     to apply the course towards an associate's degree at Austin Community College

•     to prepare them for success in upper division course in Anthropology at other institutions

 

Course Objectives: 

Students will

•     be able to describe what anthropology & physical anthropology are

•     understand the methods and theories of physical anthropology

•     understand the processes of evolution

•     will understand the processes of biocultural hominid evolution

•     understand human diversity

In addition students will

•     place the human species within a temporal and taxonomic framework

•     be able to identify parallels in physiology, social organization, and behavior among primates

•     understand and appreciate human ancestral heritage

In addition, the goal is for the student to develop an understanding of (1) human origins, (2) the physiology and behaviors that facilitated early hominid survival and the spread of human population, and (3) how the variability observed among humans supports the ongoing health and vitality of Homo sapiens.  

 

Required Text

Jurmain, Robert, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan:  Introduction to Physical Anthropology.  10th Edition.  Belmont, CA:  Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Companion website:  http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&discipline_number=15&product_isbn_issn=053463902X

 

Course Materials available on Blackboard [you may download and make copies]:

•     copies of lecture notes (these are extensive – you may prefer to read on line)

•     study guides

•     syllabus

•     worksheets, forms, and supporting materials

•     assignments, explanations, and coversheets

 

Highly Recommended:  an email account.  (If you do not have an email account, you can get a free one from hotmail, yahoo, or others.)

 

Instructional Method:

The course material is presented primarily via lecture and planned discussions. The students are invited and encouraged to engage each other and the instructor in discussion of the material presented in lecture and text.  For class discussions to be successful, students must complete reading assignments before the classroom work on the topic.  There will also be several in class group exercises.  In addition, students have two projects in which they explore and apply concepts relevant to physical anthropology.  In this case, the instruction is self-directed; it occurs via observing primary materials, reading secondary sources, and the time honored anthropological method of writing.  Assignments are preceded by detailed written instructions that include a grading rubric which is included on the provided project cover sheet.

 

Study Plan (schedule subject to change depending on instructional needs of class):

WK

Reading Assignments

1

Course Introduction:  Syllabus Walk-through

•     Introduction to anthropology & physical anthropology

 

Ch 1:  1-19; Issue:  Evaluation in Science:  Lessons in Critical Thinking, 22-1

•     Introduction physical anthropology

2

Ch 2:  22-29

•     Development of Evolutionary Theory:  History of Evolutionary Thought

 

Ch 2:  30-43 [questions 1-6, p. 41]

•     Natural Selection

3

Ch 3:  44-57  [questions 1-4 , p. 71]

•     Biological Basis of Life:  DNA

 

Ch 3:  58-71 [questions 5 & 6, p. 71]; Issue:  Stem Cell Research:  Promise and Controversy, 72-3

•     Biological Basis of Life:  Cell Division

4

Ch 4:  74-91 [questions 1-5, p. 103]

•     Heredity & Evolution:  Mendel’s Genetic Principles

 

Ch 4:  92-103 [questions 6 & 7, p. 103]; New Frontiers in Research:  Molecular Applications in Forensic Anthropology, 104-105;

•     Modern Evolutionary Theory – Evolutionary Mechanisms

5

Ch 5:  107-130 [7 questions, p. 133]; Issue:  Just When We thought Things Couldn’t Get Any Worse:  Bushmeat and Ebola, 134-136

•     Macroevolution:  Vertebrate, Mammalian & Primate Evolutionary History

 

Review for Exam

6

EXAM 1 (Ch:  1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

 

Ch 6:  137-171; Apx A

•     Overview of Living Primates:  Old World Monkeys, New World Monkeys, Apes

7

Ch 7:  172-197; Issue:  Primates in Biomedical Research:  Ethics and Concerns, 198-9

•     Primate Behavior

 

Field Trip to Austin Zoo to observe primate behavior and produce Primate Report

•     zoo info

-   hrs:  10am – 6pm; $5.00 entry fee with student ID

-   10807 Rawhide Trail (78709)

•     alternative assignment:  Primate Poster + q&a session

 

Ch 8:  200-23; New Frontiers in Research:  Molecular Applications in Primatology, 224-6

•     Video:  “Among the Wild Chimpanzee”

8

•     Poster Session (q & a session)

•     Class Discussion:  Apes as prototypes for understanding early humans

Primate project due (Primate Report or Primate Poster + q&a session)

 

Spring Break

9

Ch 9:  227-253; Issue:  The Piltdown Caper:  Who Done IT? 254-255

•     Hominid Origins:

-     Paleoanthropology           

-     Olduvai Gorge    

-     Dating Techniques           H.H>..

 

Video:  “The Story of Hominid Evolution” – Tape 1

10

Ch 10:  256-297

•     Hominid Origins (primary sites E & S Africa)

•     Bipedality:  THE Hominid Marker

 

Ch 10:  267 – 297; Apx B

•     Early Hominids (Ardipithecus, Australopithecines, H. habilis)

•     The hand, the brain, and stone tools

•     Taxonomic Issues

11

Video:  “The Emergence of Humankind“ – Tape 2

 

Ch 11:  298-325; Issue:  Man the Hunter-Woman, the Gatherer?, 236-8

•     H. erectus & Contemporaries

12

Ch 12:  229-362; New Frontiers in Research:  Ancient DNA, 363-4; Issue:  The Evolution of Language, 393-4

•     Archaic/”Premodern” H. sapiens -- Neanderthal

13

Video:  “Neanderthals on Trial”

 

Ch 13:  365-380

•     H. sapiens sapiens: Origin & Dispersal

14

Ch 13:  381-392           

•     H. sapiens sapiens: Upper Paleolithic Art & Technology

 

Putting It All Together Homework;     

•     Putting It All Together:  fossil overview (class group exercise)

•     Review of fossils and artifacts  (in class small group exercise)

Hominid Essay Due

15

Ch 14: 403-421; Ch 15:  422-443; New Frontiers in Research:  Molecular Applications in Modern Human Biology, 420-1

•     Human Variation and Adaptation

 

Ch 14:  395-401; Apx C; Issue:  Racial Purity:  A false and Dangerous Ideology, 444-5

•     Eugenics:  Racial Purity – A False and Dangerous Ideology

16

Ch 16:  446-471           

•     Legacies of Human Evolutionary History

 

Review for exam

 

EXAM 2  (Chs:  9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)

 

 

 Evaluation and Grading Criteria:

Your grade on the first day of class your grade is an "A".  Keep the "A" by successfully completing:

-     class participation        (10% of grade)

-     2 exams                         (50% of grade)

-     2 special projects        (40% of grade)

 

Explanation:

-     class participation

      (10% of grade)

…attend class, sign class roll -- be on time (sign in before I take up roll).  Your score is based upon the % of points earned by attending class. I assign 1, 2, 3, or 4 points for each day; exam days are 5 points.  At the beginning of the semester each day is worth 1 point; as the semester progresses the days become more expensive.  Any day in which less than half of the students attend is counted as double points.  Perfect attendance for each grading period (unit of material) gains one extra course point added to the final grade.

-     2 exams

      (50% of grade)

Exam 1:  Consists of 25 take home questions worth 2 points each and a sitting exam of 50 multiple choice questions worth 1 point each.  The take home questions are listed in the Study Plan above and are due on the day the reading assignment is due.  Answers should be comprehensive, concise, and clear.  The multiple choice questions on the sitting exam are taken from the study guide, take home questions (from text), and videos. 

 

Exam 2:  Consists of 50 multiple choice questions worth 2 points each.  The questions are taken from the study guide and videos.

 

…Extra points:  up to 3 extra points will be awarded based upon % of completion of the study guide (3 pt for >=95%, 2 pt for >= 90%, 1 pt for >=85%, = for <85%) 

…Extra review: 

-    I will be on campus before class on review days for individual consultations.

–   I will answer specific questions via email throughout the semester.

…Make up exams:  given only with prior notice of extenuating circumstances.  Be prepared to present relevant documentation from doctor, police, or mortician.

 

WARNING:  videos scheduled for class are required and have, in the past, been followed by a pop-quiz or by inclusion on the following exam. 

-     2 special projects

      (40% of grade)

(1) …submit an observation report OR primate poster.  For the poster, you may choose one primate from the sign-up list.

 

PRIMATE OBSERVATION PROJECT (25%)

The purpose of the primate project is threefold.  First, it permits the student to develop in depth knowledge about a single primate of interest to the student.  Second, as a piece of analytical writing, it provides the student with an opportunity to make cross-species comparisons that develop the ability to understand human physiology and behavior in new ways.  Finally, it give the student an opportunity to practice anthropological interpretation based upon comparative analysis.

 

option 1           

Primate Observation Report:  Primate Physiology and Behavior.  Spend 60 (+/- 5) minutes observing a single primate exhibit at the Austin Zoo (other primate habitats are acceptable yet are either expense or difficult to access).  Record habitat descriptions, physical description, and behavioral observations on provided Observation Log.  Write a 4-6 page report combining your observation data with existing research materials available in the text, lecture notes, and on the web.  Using the categories outlined on the Primate Worksheet, describe the animal, its environment, and its behavior.  Highlight interactive behaviors and speculate on the meaning of those behaviors to the animal, basing your speculations on information gleaned from the text, lecture, video, and other sources you choose to pursue.  Compare the primate to humans and assess how well the primate might serve as a model for interpreting ancestral hominids.  Turn in the report with the provided Coversheet, bibliography, Observation Log, and completed Primate Worksheet.  Your score is based upon a combination of the report and the supporting documentation.

 

option 2

Primate Morphology and Behavior:  Comparative Model for Human Evolution.  Choose one of the species of apes for the project.  Compare & contrast the selected primate to humans on morphology and behavior.  Use the primate to reflect upon human morphology and behavior.  Assess how well the similarities probably reconstruct early hominids and their lives AND explore what probably could lead to fallacious interpretations, basing your interpretation on the data you have collected.  Produce a poster and a written report.  The poster must contain a title, pictures with captions, text, and your name and may be generalized or focused on a specific aspect of the selected primate, such a locomotion, social structure, tool use, etc.  The report should be between 3 and 7 pages and consist of a narrative description of the material collected in the worksheet.  In addition, it may focus more heavily on a particular aspect of physiology or behavior.  Furthermore, the report should speculate on the extent to which modern humans and extinct hominids might be better understood based upon the physiology and behavior of the studied primate.  Turn in the bibliography and the provided Primate Worksheet and Coverpage with the poster.  In class, display the poster, give a 3 minute introduction and then answer questions from fellow students and instructor.  Your score is based upon a combination of poster, worksheet, write-up, presentation, description, comparison, & critical thinking.

****************************************************************************

(2)  …submit a 3-7 page report.  You may choose one of the topics listed below or explore an approved issue or conundrum you find interesting:

 

HOMINID ESSAY (15%)

The purpose of the Hominid Essay is two-fold.  First, it gives the student an opportunity to pursue one of the groups of hominids in depth.  Second, it provides an opportunity for developing the skills of identifying a problem, finding appropriate data, describing the data, thinking analytically about the data, and identifying what further research would be needed to improve our understanding of the problem. 

Each of these topics explores a puzzle or controversy (some real, some contrived).  Select one and weigh in:

-  Australopithecines:  predator or prey

-  Homo habilis:  Homo or Australopithecus

-  Homo erectus:  a million years of brain growth yet relatively static culture

-  Homo sapiens neanderthalensis:  life on the edge of the glaciers – adaptation to extinction?

-  Homo sapiens sapiens:  the creative revolution – artist/predator

Explore the topic.  Use the title to guide your exploration.  Describe the data that are relevant to the issue and use critical data analysis to support your interpretation.  You should speculate based upon your data.  Furthermore, it is important to identify further research that might help resolve the issue.  This is an exercise in anthropological analysis & interpretation -- it is NOT appropriate to base analysis on other premises.  To do so will lower your score.  Reports MUST be typed, mixed case, double spaced, with 1 inch margins.

 

Grading of Exams: 

•     Objective questions:  successful students select the best choice of multiple answers.

•     Fill in the blank:  while the answer does not have to parrot the text or lecture, it should be close enough to demonstrate that the student knows the material.

•     Subjective take home:  Answer each question in your own words.  Answers should be clear, concise, comprehensive and convincing.  The questions together are worth 50 points (half of the exam).  Unconvincing answers may be resubmitted for 1/2 half credit.

 

Grading of Reports and Posters:  the grading rubric for each project is found on the required coversheet that is available on blackboard.  The scores will form the basis for letter grades & grade-book points.

 

letter grade = points:  A = 100-90; B = 89-80; C = 79-70; D = 69-60; F = 59-0

 

A note on documenting the report and the poster – a bibliography:

Use at least 3 sources (1 may be the textbook OR the lecture notes).  Attach a bibliography including all sources used.  For internet sites, copy it correctly – if I cannot load it, it will not count it.  For citation in written reports, number each source in the bibliography; use those numbers to cite the work in the body of report.  Example:

 

Example quotation:

“Most domesticated animals were maintained solely for their meat at first” (1, p. 400).

Example citation:

 (1) Turnbaugh, William A. et al.  Understanding Physical Anthropology and Archaeology.  (1999) Belmont:  West/Wadsworth

 

Departmental Policies:

Scholastic dishonesty:   “Acts prohibited by the college for which discipline may be administered include scholastic dishonesty, including but not limited to cheating on an exam or quiz, plagiarizing, and unauthorized collaboration with another in preparing outside work.  Academic work submitted by students shall be the result of their thought, research, or self-expression.  Academic work is defined as, but not limited to tests, quizzes, whether taken electronically or on paper; projects, either individual or group; classroom presentations, and homework.”  See my note 6 below for my position on scholastic dishonesty and consequences.

Students with disabilities:  “Each ACC campus offers support services for students with documented physical or psychological disabilities.  Students with disabilities must request reasonable accommodations through the office for Students with Disabilities on the campus where they expect to take the majority of their classes. Students are encouraged to do this three weeks before the start of the semester.”

Academic Freedom:  “Each student is strongly encouraged to participate in class discussions.  In any classroom situation that includes discussion and critical thinking, there are bound to be many differing viewpoints.  Students may not only disagree with each other at times, but the students and instructor may also find that they have disparate views on sensitive and volatile topics.  It is my hope that these differences will enhance class discussion and create an atmosphere where students and instructor alike will be encouraged to think and learn.  Therefore, be assured that your grades will not be adversely affected by any beliefs or ideas expressed in class or in assignments.  Rather, we will all respect the views of others when expressed in classroom discussions.”

 

Chipley’s Preferred Practices:

1.    Turn beepers and phones OFF during class.  If your phone goes off, you owe snack to class the following class day.  that includes your prof.

2.    Attendance is your decision and your responsibility.  However, you will lose participation points on your grade if you do not attend and/or if you do not sign-in.  To be counted you must sign the sign-in sheet each class before I take it up – in other words, come to class on time.  If you MUST miss a class, call me beforehand to receive 1/2 credit for the day.

3.    Call me if you are having problems with the class material or completing the assignments.  I will arrange a specific appointment in which we can meet if you cannot make my office hours.

4.    Finish by the end of the semester -- no incompletes will be given.

5.    Withdrawal is your responsibility.  If you consider dropping the course any time after the 1st exam, meet with me to discuss your progress before you decide to drop.  If you then decide to withdraw from the course, go to Campus Admissions and Records Office and complete the necessary paperwork.  Failure to drop the course will result in an “F” on your transcript.

6.    My note on academic honesty.  I will NOT grade (will give a “0” to) any project/report that does not have an attached  bibliography.  If I cannot get to a cited internet site, I will treat the report as if it had no bibliography. Do NOT download whole papers or copy/paste entire paragraphs from a website – the maximum time it has EVER taken me to find the source or such material used by an unfortunate student is 3 minutes.  In the report sources for all data should be sited.  In your writing, place quoted material in “   ”  and cite the source.  Use the five word rule – that is, use quotation marks if you use more than five consecutive words from an author.  If you paraphrase an author's words, cite the author as your source but do not use “   ”.  In contrast, your analysis, interpretation, and opinions should be based upon your own thinking and require no citation.  If you concur with an author’s opinion, cite the source and stated why you agree.  Use the brochure "Documentation and Plagiarism" (available in the ACC library), which can be found in the library, as your guide.  If material submitted for a grade is downloaded from the internet, clearly plagiarized, or copied from another student, you will be reported to the Dean for disciplinary action.

7.    If you make less than a “C” (70) on any exam, make an appointment with me and discuss your exam.  We will review study strategies to help improve your score.

8.    To take a make-up an exam give me an official document related to your absence showing a doctor’s, a police’s, or mortician’s signature AND you call me BEFORE the hour that the exam begins.  If this happens, we will arrange for you to take the exam; you will not earn participation credit for taking the exam when given.

 

Keep Track of Your Own Grade

 

Grading Opportunity

Points

Subtotals

-     class participation

(points vary by class day)

10%

Dates missed class:

 

 

 

 

 

-     2 exams

      (100 points each)

50%

Exam 1: _____

Exam 2: _____

 

-     2 projects

40%

Primate Proj:  ________

Hominid Essay:  ________

 

-     extra point opportunities