Spring
2008ANTH 4110/5110 Human Evolutionary Biology (The Fossil Record)
Spring
2008
Meeting Place: Hale 230
Meeting Time: TR 12:30 pm
Professor: Matt Sponheimer
Office: Hale 347
Office Hours: W 12:00-3:00 pm
Phone: 303-800-5770
Email: matt.sponheimer@colorado.edu
Main Website: http://www.colorado.edu/anthropology/sponheimer
Website Mirror: http://melampus.colorado.edu/class/
TA: Sarah Taylor (sarah.r.taylor@colorado.edu)
Readings Website: https://melampus.colorado.edu/class/readings/4110
Citizendium Link: http://en.citizendium.org/wiki/Sp08cuboulderanth4110humanevolutionarybiology
Overview
Paleoanthropology is a topic of tremendous public interest, as is evidenced by the constant stream of new television shows and books on the subject; however, while many people have been exposed to the broad strokes of human evolution, very few are well acquainted with the primary data of the discipline: the human fossil record. This course is designed to address this gap by providing you with a detailed look at the fossils, sites, and techniques that inform us about the deep human past. The emphasis will be on the hard evidence for human evolution rather than theoretical considerations. All told, this class will focus on how we know what we think we know about human evolution.
Readings
There is no required textbook for this class as the most relevant textbooks on the market are either too basic or too advanced. Thus, class lectures cover everything that you need to know for the exams. That said, many people perform much better when they have a text to refer to, so a few book suggestions are found below. I will also post readings on the class website from time to time.
Grading
There will be two grading streams for this class.
(Stream 1) You take three mid-term exams and a comprehensive final exam, all of which will be in multiple-choice format. I will drop the lowest of your three mid-term scores, thus your final grade will be calculated as follows: two mid-terms (33.3% each) and the final exam (33.3%). There will be no makeup exams. If you miss a test, the next will be given double weight. None of the exams will be graded on a curve.
(Stream 2) I will still drop the lowest of your three mid-term scores, and the remaining 33.3% of your grade will be a wiki project, where you create articles for the site Citizendium (no final exam). This will be an especially good option for those people who are more writers than multiple choice test takers, and who are also interested in making a lasting contribution to knowledge! Another potential advantage is that if you do well on the first two tests you can effectively skip the third (as I drop the lowest grade), and therefore be done with the testing portion of the class before Spring Break! If you are going to use Stream 2, you MUST let us know by the second week of class, as we will be negotiating with the site to get authorship privileges on your behalf.
Disabilities
If you qualify for accommodations because of a disability, please bring me a letter from Disability Services so that your needs can be addressed. Disability Services (303-492-8671, Willard 322, www.colorado.edu/disabilityservices) determines accommodations based on documented disabilities.
An Evolving Class Schedule
January
Week 1 Introduction
Week 2 Historical Background, Classification & Nomenclature
Week 3 Dating and Paleoenvironments
February
Week 4 Early Mammal & Primate Evolution
Week 5 Exam I & More Primate Evolution
Week 6 Hominins in South Africa
Week 7 More Hominins in South Africa
First Mid-Term Exam on February 12th
March
Week 8 Hominins in East Africa
Week 9 Exam II & East Africa
Week 10 More Early Hominins
Week 11 Spring Break
Second Mid-Term Exam on March 11th
April
Week 12 Early Hominin Paleoecology
Week 13 Homo erectus
Week 14 The Muddle in the Middle & Modern Human Origins
Week 15 Exam III & Peopling of the World
Week 16 Conclusion
Third Mid-Term Exam on April 22nd
Final Exam on Monday, May 5th, 7:30am - 10:00am