Human Evolution ARKY 3600A-LBED 3600A Fall 2024 PDF

University of Lethbridge School of Liberal Education **ARKY 3600A--LBED 3600A** **Human Evolution** **Monday: 15:00 -- 17:45** **Fall 2024** **Classroom: UH C756** **Instructor:** Dr. Richard G. Delisle **Office:** A812G (UH) **Phone:** (403) 380-1861 **Email:** richard.delisle\@uleth.ca *...

University of Lethbridge School of Liberal Education **ARKY 3600A--LBED 3600A** **Human Evolution** **Monday: 15:00 -- 17:45** **Fall 2024** **Classroom: UH C756** **Instructor:** Dr. Richard G. Delisle **Office:** A812G (UH) **Phone:** (403) 380-1861 **Email:** richard.delisle\@uleth.ca **Office Hours:** Tuesday 17:50 -- 19:50 or by appointment **Course Description:** This course will introduce students to the critical issues involved in understanding the evolution of the human species, both biologically and culturally. We will explore the biological and archaeological evidence that scientists draw upon to interpret the evolutionary path of humans. Emphasis will be placed on the archaeological and palaeoanthropological study of the hominid line from the early primates to our present species. Through lectures, videos, labs, assignments and class discussions we will cover the major topics of human evolution, including evolutionary theory, excavation and dating methods, ancient and extant primates, and hominid evolution. It will be seen that several distinct scientific fields are contributing to our knowledge of human evolution, thus raising the question of the nature of knowledge integration among disciplines. **Course Expectations: It is expected that you will spend about 4 hours each week in order to prepare for each class. It is also expected that you will spend additional time for writing two assignments during the semester with teammates. Indeed, it cannot be stressed enough that teamwork constitutes an essential component of this course. Students should expect to have to work with classmates for the preparation of some classes and during classes. Students who refuse to go along with this policy will be excluded from their team with no possibility of catching up through alternative assignments.** **Lecture style: Content for this course will be transmitted through a combination of: oral lectures and the use of a PowerPoint presentation.** **Course Requirements and Grading:** **Assignments:** The **two lab-based assignments** are worth 25% each. They involve the hands-on analysis of skeletal remains. You will have class time to work on these assignments. You should work together with your teammates on these lab assignments and must hand in only one assignment per team. All assignments must be typed and double spaced (where possible). **Late Policy:** **All assignments are due on the dates and times stipulated. Late assignments will be docked 10% from the total 100% of the assignment per calendar day (weekends included) up to a maximum of 3 days after which the assignment receives a mark of zero (0).** **Examinations:** There are two exams worth 30% and 20% respectively. A number of question types are used, such as multiple-choice and matching. These exams are conducted on Moodle in the Testing Centre. **No make-up exams will be given except in the case of serious illness as verified by a doctor's note within a week of the illness.** The Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Science wishes to remind students that the University Final Exam Policy states that only in *extraordinary* circumstances may students request to write an equivalent invigilated Final Examination at other than the scheduled time and place. Students are advised that *holiday travel plans* do not constitute an extraordinary circumstance. See the Policies Page in WebCT for the Late Policy and for the Plagiarism Policy. **Important Dates:** ***No extra assignment will be offered to students to improve their marks*** **Testing Center: University Hall, room E630** **Regular Hours** ------------------- ------------------------ Monday \-- Friday 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Saturday 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ------------------- ------------------------ **Grading Scheme:** ----------- ---------- ---------- ---------- A+ 90-100 B+ 77-79 C+ 67-69 D+ 57-59 A 85-89 B 73-76 C 63-66 D 50-56 A- 80-84 B- 70-72 C- 60-62 F 0-49 ----------- ---------- ---------- ---------- **General Course Outline:** **I. HUMANKIND AMONG THE PRIMATES (the principles of evolution)** 1\. The Primate Order (generalized vs specialized traits; competition; preadaptation; genotype vs phenotype) \- Homology and common ancestry \- The theory of natural selection \- The levels of evolution \- R-K selection and primates 2\. The Adaptive Radiations of the Primates (evolutionary grades; primitive vs derived traits; adaptive radiation; speciation; the biological species concept; anagenesis vs cladogenesis) \- Prosimians \- New World monkeys \- Old World monkeys 3\. Humankind\'s Own Adaptive Radiation: The Apes \- Gibbons \- Orangutans \- Gorillas \- Chimpanzees \- Humans \- Key evolutionary stages or grades from prosimian-like ancestors to living humans \- How can diet be inferred from tooth morphology? 4\. Understanding human evolution is a multidisciplinary quest: Additive and complementary sources of information. **II. HUMANKIND\'S CLOSEST RELATIVES: SYSTEMATICS AND** **GENETICS** 5\. Taxonomy: Carl von Linné (Linnaeus) 6\. The Method of Cladistics 7\. The Rise and Fall of *Ramapithecus* 8\. Genetics and Taxonomy \- Introduction to genetics \- Mendel\'s experiments \- Mutations \- Towards the evolutionary synthesis \- The neutral theory of evolution \- Molecular anthropology 9\. The Molecular Clock 10\. Human Evolution, a Multidisciplinary Quest: Conflicting Sources of Information. **III. THE EARLY HOMINIDS** 11\. From Cladistics to Phylogenetic Hypotheses to Scenarios of Hominization \- Darwin (1871) \- Jolly (1970) \- Lovejoy (1981) 12\. The Anatomy, Species, and Phylogeny of the Australopithecines \- The meaning of genus and species \- *Australopithecus afarensis* \- *Australopithecus africanus* \- The robust australopithecines: *A. robustus* and *A. boisei* \- The phylogeny of the australopithecines \- The Black Skull (? *A. aethiopicus*) \- The impact of the Black Skull on phylogeny \- An ever more complex picture: *Kenyanthropus*, *Ardipithecus*, *Orrorin*, *Sahelanthropus*, *Australopihecus anamensis*, *Australopithecus garhi*, etc. 13\. The Biology of the Early Hominids \- Hominids as tropical animals **[LAB 1 :] Monday, November 4 (in class)** **IV. THE LATER HOMINIDS** 14\. Human Evolution, a Multidisciplinary Quest: Between Archaeology and Paleontology. The Identity of the Stone Tool Makers 15\. The Anatomy and Species of the Genus *Homo* \- *Homo habilis* (*H. rudolfensis*) \- *Homo erectus* (*H. ergaster*) \- *Homo sapiens* (*H. heidelbergensis*, *H. neanderthalensis*) \- Where to fit *Homo floresiensis*? 16\. The Phylogeny of the Genus *Homo* \- Two opposite views: splitting and lumping \- Gradual evolution and punctuated evolution \- The \"Multiregional model\" versus the \"Out of Africa\" model \- Molecular anthropology strikes again? 17\. The Biology of the Later Hominids \- Hominids as large mammals \- The long childhood of *Homo erectus* \[Not in class: see document on Moodle\] **[LAB 2 :] Monday, November 25 (in class)**