ANTHROPOLOGY 301 PRINCIPLES OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY FALL 2016 COURSE INFORMATION Lectures: Labs: Location: Mondays 10:00-11:40 am Wednesdays, 10:00 am - 12:40 pm Storm Hall 229 (Lectures and labs) Instructor: Dr. Casey Roulette Office: AL 484 Email: croulette@sdsu.edu Phone: (619) 594-2271 Office hours: Tuesdays 11-12 pm (AL 484) & 3-4 pm (SH 229) Grad. Asst.: Email: Shelby Jenkins shelbyjenkins216@yahoo.com COURSE OVERVIEW Welcome to Anthropology 301, Principles of Physical Anthropology, a course designed to provide you with a comprehensive introduction to physical anthropology, also known as biological anthropology. Physical/Biological anthropology is the study of human biology within the framework of evolution. Thus, this class explores mechanisms of evolution, as well as the hominin fossil record, and non-human primates, among others, as a means to better understand humanity, both its uniformity and its diversity. Some of the things we will do in this course are: explore the human lineage, learn why studying monkeys and apes helps us better understand humans, evaluate key debates in physical anthropology, and learn how humans have (and possibly continue) adapted to their environments. ENROLLMENT INFORMATION Prerequisites: Anth 101 (or equivalent) COURSE MATERIALS/REQUIRED TEXTS Required Text: Boyd and Silk (2015). How Human s Evolved, 7th edition. New York: WW Norton. Lab exercises: Available on Blackboard to download Other readings: Posted on Blackboard to download Online Tasks: Quizzes and study material available on Blackboard COURSE STRUCTURE AND CONDUCT This course is a traditional lecture course, with a laboratory component, and is supplemented by online (Blackboard) material. You are required to complete each week s reading prior to attending that week s class. This
will help facilitate class discussion and group activities. There will be laboratory assignments available on Blackboard to download. These assignments are due prior to coming to that week s lab class. All students can access the course on Blackboard using their SDSU Red ID login and password at https://blackboard.sdsu.edu/webapps/login. There are also quizzes and additional material available on blackboard for you to use as study material. I highly recommend reviewing these as they will help reinforce the lecture and laboratory material, and thus help improve your grade. Some test items might even come straight from the Blackboard quizzes! LEARNING OBJECTIVES This course has three main learning objectives. By the time this course is finished you, the student, should be able to: 1) separate fact from fiction in terms what evolution is and is not 2) place ourselves within the primate order as well as identify key features that make humans similar and/or different to other non-human primates, both living and extinct 3) identify physical characteristics shared by all humans as well as characteristics that vary within and between populations, and be able to account for these similarities and/or differences using an evolutionary biological framework. From week to week there will also be smaller learning goals that will help facilitate the three main learning goals. Some of these might include, but are not limited to, (a) defining and applying key concepts, (b) applying a technique used in collecting and/or analyzing bioanthropological data, (c) comparing fossil evidence to recreate primate phylogenies, and/or (d) evaluating and comparing competing hypotheses regarding human evolution. COURSE ASSESSMENT AND GRADING Your overall grade for this course will be based on two components: 3 Exams = 60% of total grade Laboratories/Discussion = 40% of total grade Details of the two components are as follows: (1) Exams (20% each): The exams will be based on lecture, videos, and assigned readings. Questions will be a combination of multiple-choice, true/false, matching, and/or fill in the blank/short answer. The exams are non-cumulative (with the exception of extra credit questions, should I so choose to include them). The final exam will be held during the final exam period. (2) Laboratories/Discussion: Your overall laboratory grade will be based on the following (note that there are no make-up labs or quizzes): (i) Attendance and group participation (5%). (ii) Lab exercises (35%): to be completed and turned in during the laboratory class hours. Labs will be returned to students during the lecture of the following week. (iii) Quizzes (30%): Review sessions to immediately precede each quiz. (iv) Homework (30%): To be completed on BB. All exams, homework, lab exercises, and quizzes will be graded based on points and expressed as percentages. Grading Scale B+ (87-89) C+ (77-79) D+ (67-69) A (93-100%) B (83-86) C (73-76) D (63-66) F (<60)
A- (90-92) B- (80-82) C- (70-72) D- (60-62) ACADEMIC HONESTY As an institution of higher education, San Diego State University is committed to principles of truth and academic honesty. All members of the University community share the responsibility for maintaining and supporting these principles. When a student enrolls in San Diego State University the student assumes an obligation to pursue academic endeavors in a manner consistent with the standards of academic integrity adopted by the University. To maintain the academic integrity of the community, the University cannot tolerate acts of academic dishonesty including any forms of cheating, plagiarism, or fabrication. San Diego State University reserves the right and the power to discipline or to exclude students who engage in academic dishonesty. IN OTHER WORDS, DO NOT CHEAT!!! Please refer to SDSU s policy concerning academic dishonesty. Become familiar with the policy and what constitutes plagiarism: http://studentaffairs.sdsu.edu/srr/cheating-plagiarism.html http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/judicial/detailsmisconduct.html http://www.sa.sdsu.edu/srr/judicial/cheatingdisruption.html Examples of Plagiarism include but are not limited to: Using sources verbatim or paraphrasing without giving proper attribution (this can include phrases, sentences, paragraphs and/or pages of work) Copying and pasting work from an online or offline source directly and calling it your own Using information you find from an online or offline source without giving the author credit Replacing words or phrases from another source and inserting your own words or phrases Submitting a piece of work you did for one class to another class TECHNICAL SUPPORT FOR BLACKBOARD Student support for Blackboard is provided by the Library Computing Hub, located on the 2 nd floor of Love Library. They can be reached at 619-594-3189 or hub@mail.sdsu.edu COURSE SCHEDULE Lectures (Mondays) Labs (Wednesdays) Week Date Topic Readings Date Activity Due Introduction. What is biological 1 Aug 29 anthropology? Lab 1: Boyd and Who is Charles Sept 31 Food and Body Silk CH 1 Darwin? Image How does evolution work? 2 Sept 5 LABOR DAY NO CLASS Sept 7 Lab 2: Skeletal Biology Terminology, Human Skull 3 Sept 12 How does evolution work? CH 2 Sept 14 Lab 3: Skeletal Biology of
Lectures (Mondays) Labs (Wednesdays) Week Date Topic Readings Date Activity Due What are genes? Proteins? How are genes inherited? the Upper Body Some history of evolutionary thought Lab 4: Lab Quiz #1 on 4 Sept 19 How did the modern Skeletal Biology of labs 1-3 CH 3 Sept 21 synthesis influence the Pelvis and understanding of evolution? Lower Limbs Turn in labs 1-3 5 Sept 26 Why primates? How do you interpret primate taxonomies? CH 4 Sept 28 6 Oct 3 EXAM 1 Oct 5 7 Oct 10 8 Oct 17 9 Oct 24 10 Oct 31 How do you design a primate? Why do primates do the things they do? What is a hominin? Who were the first hominins? CH 5-6 Oct 12 CH 7-8 Oct 19 CH 9-10 Oct 26 Who were are earliest ancestors? CH 11-12 Nov 2 11 Nov 7 EXAM 2 Nov 9 12 Nov 14 13 Nov 21 14 Nov 28 15 Dec 5 16 Dec 12 Who, and what, are archaic humans? How do you design a modern Homo Sapiens? CH 13 Nov 16 What accounts for contemporary human diversity? Can evolution account for human CH 15-16 Nov 30 behavior? Forensic anthropology T.B.D. Dec 7 LAB AND LECTURE DAYS SWITCHED: Lab Quiz #4 on labs 11-14 Dec 14 Turn in labs 11-14 Lab 5: Primate Classification Lab 6: Primate Feeding Adaptations Lab 7: Comparative Primate Locomotion Lab 8: Observing Primate Behavior Lab 9: Primate Paleontology Lab 10: Early Hominine Evolution Lab 11: Emergence of Homo Lab 12: Middle and Upper Pleistocene Hominins, Archaic Humans Lab Quiz #2 on labs 4-7 Turn in labs 4-7 Lab Quiz #3 on labs 8-10 Turn in labs 8-10 CH 14 Nov 23 THANKSGIVING BREAK NO LAB Lab 13: Human Adaptability Lab 14: Forensics FINAL EXAM
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES Reasonable accommodations are available for students who have a documented disability. Please notify the instructor during the first week of class if any accommodations are needed for the course. Late notifications may mean that requested accommodations might not be available. All accommodations must be approved through Student Disability Services at (619) 594-6473, located at Calpulli Center, Suite 3100 (third floor), or go to http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/sds/ STUDENT SERVICES: A complete list of all academic support services is available on the Academic Success section of the SDSU Student Affairs website. For help with improving your writing ability, the staff at the SDSU Writing Center is available in person and online. Counseling and Psychological Services offers confidential counseling services by licensed psychologists, counselors, and social workers. More info can be found at their website or by contacting (619) 594-5220. You can also Live Chat with a counselor http://go.sdsu.edu/student_affairs/cps/therapist-consultation.aspx between 4:00pm and 10:00pm, or call San Diego Access and Crisis 24-hour Hotline at (888) 724-7240. OTHER ACCOMMODATIONS: Please let me or the TA know if you have any special needs; i.e. test anxiety, public speaking anxiety, extra time for exams, or if English is not your first language. Please see us as soon-as-possible so that arrangements can be made. Generally, if you are having trouble in any areas of the course come see the TA or me. We are here to help you learn. ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT POLICY: DO NOT USE YOUR CELLPHONE DURING CLASS AND DO NOT USE YOUR COMPUTER FOR ANYTHING OTHER THAN CONSTRUCTIVE CLASS PARTICIPATION (i.e. do use it to take notes but do not use it to browse the internet, get on a social networking site, to make online purchases, etc.) That being said: DO NOT BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS! The easiest might be via email, but asking questions in class is encouraged. You may not be the only person with a particular question therefore asking your question will also aid others in class. It may also lead to great class discussions. So please, be engaged and be curious. We will all get more out of the class and it will be more enjoyable. ADDITIONAL TIPS: come to class (even though attendance will not be taken); keep track of readings and exam dates; do the readings and come to class with questions; check your email; take class notes, and study your notes from time to time. COPYRIGHT POLICY SDSU respects the intellectual property of others and we ask our faculty & students to do the same. It is best to assume that any material (e.g., graphic, html coding, text, video, or sound) on the Web is copyrighted unless specific permission is given to copy it under a Creative Commons License. More information about the use of copy written material in education as part of the TEACH Act and Copyright Fair Use Guidelines. Whenever possible, you should attribute the original author of any work used under these provisions.
FYI Note that this syllabus is only a general plan for the course. The instructor may make changes at any time. These might include, but are not limited to, changes to the grading policy (but not to the detriment of students overall grades), required readings, homework, due dates, etc. If you were absent from class, please make sure to check if such changes were made when you return.