COURSE SYLLABUS. Overview

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1 ANTHROPOLOGY 1301 Fall 2010 (MWF 12:30) INTRO TO PHYSICAL ANTH & ARCHEOLOGY Dr. Carmichael COURSE SYLLABUS Overview Is warfare a uniquely human behavior? Is it an inevitable human behavior? Do you know how many human races there are? What do IQ tests measure? Have you ever wondered how evolution can be both a fact and a theory? Are humans really descended from monkeys? Are you related to the Neanderthals? How about the GEICO cavemen? Do you know what the most important human invention of all time was? I assume you ve heard of the New World, but do you know what makes it new? This semester we will engage in lively considerations of these and other big questions about who we are as a species, our relationship to the rest of the world, and how we got to where we are today. The course is designed to provide an introduction to current scientific understandings of the origin and diversity of humans as revealed by research in paleoanthropology, primatology, archeology and ethnology. Topics will include the genetic and fossil evidence for human biological evolution, and evidence for the most important cultural evolutionary changes reflected in the archeological record. The level of instruction assumes no prior experience in anthropology or archeology. Learning Objectives The course content is intended to address four primary goals: 1) Students should understand and be able to articulate how scientists know things about our world. More specifically, you should understand how it is possible to know things about the ancient past what types of evidence are available, and what forms of reasoning are used to make sense of the evidence. Understanding the relationship between explanations and supporting evidence is central to your success in this course. The class is intended to help you develop and practice your critical thinking skills. 2) Students should develop a familiarity with the basic evidence for geological, biological and cultural change; that is, evolution. What characteristics of the fossils, artifacts, DNA, etc. provide the evidence for change? 3) Students should be able to discuss the circumstances that led to the outcomes for which we have evidence. In other words, why did things happen as they did? Why was agriculture invented when and where it was? Why was bipedal locomotion advantageous to the hominids? How do we know our closest relatives in the animal kingdom are the apes? 4) You should be able to view and discuss the challenges currently facing our species in the context of the long term patterns of human development and change. 1

2 Major Themes & Perspectives Anthropology is a very broad discipline, and the topics studied by anthropologists bear on literally every aspect of human existence. Even a course such as this, with its focus on the prehistoric past, is more relevant to our present circumstances than one might first imagine. I will sometimes bring materials or perspectives into a discussion that deal with contemporary topics such as religion, politics and the environment. However, when I do address such topics, it will be in the context of the main organizing themes of this course. In other words, they will be relevant to the information in your text, in my lectures, the videos, or our class discussions. So, if you ever find yourself wondering why a piece of information is being presented, why I m requiring you to listen to read about some nearly extinct hunter-gatherer tribe or listen to chimpanzees howl, ask yourself how the information relates to the major themes. All the material presented in the course relates in some way to one or more of these four major themes: 1) Evolution is a fact. People who doubt this statement often don t have a clear idea about what evolution really is, or they have been exposed inaccurate information about it, so let s deal with that right up front. Evolution does NOT mean that we are descended from monkeys or chimpanzees. No living species can be descended from another contemporary species. Nor does it mean that we can choose to evolve as individuals during our lifetimes. Rather, biological evolution is change in populations of organisms. Darwin referred to it as descent with modification; a more modern definition would be change in gene frequency over time. The fact of change is not in dispute. Evolution can be observed in the laboratory and in the wild, even within a single human lifetime. The reason we have not yet cured AIDS is that the virus has evolved, and it continues to change as we develop new drugs. Some antibiotics that used to be effective in treating bacterial infections no longer work because the bacteria have evolved. Change in gene frequency over time does not necessarily lead to new species, but it can if the processes involved act over a sufficiently long period of time. The fossil record provides the evidence for speciation, of long term change in gene frequency. Evolution is a theory; or more precisely, there are several theories of evolution. But evolution is also a fact. How can evolution be both a fact and a theory? Good question. The answer has to do with the differences in the way terminology is used in science versus the popular vernacular of society at large. In science, the term theory means a well-supported explanation. It does NOT mean a guess, hunch or hypothesis, as is often the case in popular (mis)use of the term. So, there are several wellsupported explanations for changes in populations of organisms, and we will discuss them in some detail in the first few weeks of the semester. 2) Humans share a common ancestry with apes. Many people are uncomfortable with the idea that we humans are part of the animal kingdom. Nevertheless, many cultures around the world recognize the similarities between humans and non-human primates; this relationship is even alluded to in 2

3 some creation stories, such as the Mayan account summarized in Chapter 1 of your textbook. Such observations of similarity are correct. Darwin correctly predicted our close biological relationship with the apes more than a century ago based on anatomical resemblances, and modern genetic studies have reached the same finding. For example, Morris Goodman, a researcher at Wayne State University, reports that humans and chimpanzees have 95% of their DNA sequence and 99% of coding DNA in common. Now, this doesn t mean that humans descended from chimpanzees. But it does mean that both humans and modern chimps evolved from a common prehistoric ancestor, one that lived about 6-10 million years ago. There are a number of human and pre-human ancestors revealed in the fossil record, and there are transitional forms fossils that exhibit both human and ape-like characteristics. Although new fossils are being discovered all the time, at present it is thought that our common ancestor with the apes is one of the species in the genus Ardipithecus or Australopithecus. Fossil evidence that supports this conclusion will be presented and discussed in the middle portion of the course. 3) There is only one human race: the Tour de France. One of my colleagues in sociology likes to say the only human race is the Boston Marathon. I refer to the Tour de France because I m a serious cyclist and cycling fan. But the point is the same there are NO biological races within the human species. Why would we make such an outrageous claim? After all, everybody knows there are people of different races, right? I mean, we ve grown up learning to judge people and treat people differently based on their race, so those groupings must be biologically real, right? Wrong. Certainly there are groups that most people refer to as races, but they are not valid biological populations. Instead, they are socio-political categories that we use to classify (and sometimes hurt) one another. The racial classifications most people use do not reflect that actual distribution of genetic variability within our species. In fact, the more we learn about genetics and the human genome, the clearer it is that our racial classification fails to describe the real patterns of genetic variation. There is so much more to any individual than skin color, and the other traits vary independently of skin color. Anthropologists have been making the case against race for almost 70 years; at least since Ashley Montague s book, Man s Most Dangerous Myth: The Fallacy of Race (1942), but most people apparently don t want to hear it. Perhaps skin color is too convenient an excuse to discriminate against others The bad news is we have used race as an excuse to mistreat people. The good news is there is no valid biological basis for continuing to do so. Later in the course, several kinds of evidence will be presented to show why race is not a valid biological concept for humans, and why it is not useful for understanding human variation. If you take only one thing away from this course, I hope it will be the knowledge that there is no biological basis for discrimination against any group of humans as defined by our misguided racial classification. 4) Food production was the most important human invention of all time. The Neolithic is the prehistoric period during which human populations invented food production. That is, our ancestors changed from being hunter-gatherers dependent on wild plant and animal foods to producing their own food by means of plant and animal domestication. This shift is considered by many researchers to be the most important change humans have ever made, because it seems to be the only time that an 3

4 organism has changed to adapt to a completely new ecological niche without undergoing speciation. Instead, humans altered the natural environment to suit the needs of their growing populations. Remarkably, it seems that all the later developments that we take for granted as typical aspects of civilization were predicated on the earlier invention of food production. The ability to produce food and store the surplus was the basis for the development of nearly all the complex societies in the world, and the basis for cultural developments such as market economies, political hierarchies, craft specialization, trade, warfare, and most other aspects of recent and modern society. In fact, the demographic and ecological consequences of the Neolithic shift to food production are still being felt by our world today. Contemporary challenges such as population growth, poverty, war, and global warming will be discussed in this context. Grading Approach and Assessments This course is an introduction to the evidence for evolution evidence for biological and cultural changes in humans and our ancestors, as well as changes in the environments to which they have been adapted. There are so many lines of inquiry, and so many details of evidence that bear on these issues that it would be easy to get bogged down in the details; to miss the forest for the trees. In might be easier for me to test you on your ability to memorize names and dates, but I choose not to structure the course in that fashion, for at least two reasons. First, new archeological and fossil finds are being made all the time, and some of the specific facts you might memorize today will be superseded by new discoveries in a few years. Second, and more importantly, I don t want you to merely believe what I tell you, or what you read in your textbook; I want you to understand why scientists have reached the conclusions they have. In other words, I want you to understand the connection between the scientific evidence and the warranted explanations for that evidence. The exams and other assignments are designed to assess your ability to synthesize various kinds of evidence, evaluate complex arguments, and understand the bases for our current knowledge about the human past. Vocabulary, names, dates and other such details are important only to the extent that they relate to a thorough understanding of the larger issues. I recognize that many students are challenged by some of the ideas presented in this course, especially those ideas that may seem to conflict with firmly held religious beliefs. I feel that students are not getting their money s worth from college if they are not regularly challenged by the content of their courses. Nevertheless, let me assure you; it is not my intention to suggest what anyone s religious beliefs should be. I will simply present and discuss the scientific knowledge as it is currently understood; whether you choose to accept the warranted arguments generated by science is your own business. I do not expect students to believe the textbook, or me, or to change their religious views. However, I do expect you to be able to demonstrate an understanding of the warranted arguments presented in class I do expect you to be able to accurately express why scientists hold the views they do. Understanding the relationship between evidence and conclusions is basic to success in this course. Why do I place so much emphasis on this ability? Because it is a critical thinking skill that will 4

5 serve students well, long after completing this course. It can help you become a more discerning consumer of ideas and claims in other areas of life. If more people in our society understood the scientific method, perhaps they wouldn t attribute political motives to the scientific community, and they might be more receptive to the scientific knowledge that could inform public policy relating to evolution, education, race, global warming, sustainable development, and other contemporary issues. Grading will be based on weekly quizzes and three in-class exams: two midterms and a final. The exams will be a combination of objective questions, short answer, and essay. Each will make up 25% of the final grade. The remaining 25% will come from your average score on quizzes. Quizzes will occur about once a week, but not necessarily on any given day of the week; they will not be announced ahead of time. Therefore, you will need to stay current on the assigned readings at all times, and you will need to maintain regular attendance in class. Grades are NOT determined by the total number of points accumulated during the semester. Instead, each exam is assigned a letter grade based on the percentage of correct responses. The letter grades are then averaged, with the final grade calculated on a 4-point scale, similar to the way your overall GPA is expressed. You will be expected to stay current on assigned readings, and synthesize the readings, lecture materials, and videos for the exams. If you must miss a class, it is your responsibility to see a fellow student, the TA, or me to find out about the material missed. Required Text: Feder and Park (2007), Human Antiquity, Mayfield Press. (5th edition) Academic Dishonesty Unless otherwise indicated in writing, the assignments you turn in for this course are to be your own work. Any student who commits an act of academic dishonesty is subject to discipline. Academic dishonesty includes cheating, plagiarism, collusion, the submission for credit of someone else's work, and taking an exam for another person. Cases of suspected academic dishonesty will be referred to the Dean of Students for investigation. Disciplinary actions can include a failing grade, suspension, or expulsion from the University. If you have any doubts about what is acceptable, see me. You may also consult the UTEP Handbook of Operating Procedures, Student Affairs, Sections 1.2.2, 1.6.2, and for definitions and details. Please refrain from such activities; it is easier and a lot more fun to simply do the work as assigned. Enjoy the course! Contact Information: Dr. David Carmichael 206 Old Main carm@utep.edu Office hours: Monday through Thursday, 1:30-2:30, or by appt. 5

6 COURSE OUTLINE Introduction Aug Different ways of knowing: myth and science. The discipline of anthropology (Feder & Park Ch. 1) Students are expected to demonstrate understanding of the essential differences between science and myths as ways of knowing about the world. Comparisons among several different creation stories will serve to highlight the ways in which all myths are similar and how they differ philosophically and methodologically from science. Students will be able to discuss the proposition of Intelligent Design and identify its salient philosophical features in comparison with other explanations of human origins. Aug 30-Sept 3 How can we know about the past? Uniformitarianism vs. catastrophism (Feder & Park, Ch. 2) This unit provides an introduction to the scientific method, the general approach scientists use to learn about, understand, and make predictions about the world. Students will be expected to know the basic terminology of science, including the meaning and significance of facts, hypotheses, and theories in the context of scientific explanations. It will also be necessary to grasp the philosophical principles used to construct logical arguments, such as parsimony and actualism. Sept 6 Labor Day; no classes Sept 8-10 Overview of evolution; evidence for change, and early explanations. Darwin s natural selection: part of the answer. (Feder & Park, Ch. 3) Video: Great Books: The Origin of Species An introduction to Darwin s theory of natural selection will be presented, and students will be expected to demonstrate an understanding of the basic workings of natural selection as a process of adaptation. Lectures will draw upon the UC-Berkeley website on evolution and Nature magazine s 15 Evolutionary Gems to correct the many common misconceptions people have about what evolution is and how it works. Evolution is NOT survival of the fittest, is NOT random, and is NOT progress. Students will be able to describe what evolution is and identify the sorts of evidence that convince scientists that natural selection is at work in nature. Biological Basis for Human Behavior Sept Evolution: Fact and theory. Modern genetics and the processes of evolution. (Feder & Park Ch. 4) Video: Darwin's Revolution in Thought 6

7 Evolution is not the same as Darwinism. Haven t we learned anything in the last 150 years? Yes, we have. While natural selection was, and still is a major component of the Modern Synthesis of evolution, there are a number of other, non-darwinian mechanisms and principles that generate change in gene frequency over time. Students are expected to be able to identify these natural processes and provide examples of their agency and effects in nature. Sept Evolution continued: Biological diversity in modern humans. Race: humanity s most dangerous myth. (Feder & Park, ) Most people in the United States have been raised to believe that races are actual biological subdivisions of the human species, and that racial differences are real. They are not. Much of this country s past has involved racial thinking and the stereotyping of individuals according to their appearance, and such behavior is still surprisingly common today. It is important to understand that there is no biological basis for these sorts of attitudes. Evidence will be provided to show how our racial classification is based on misunderstandings and/or misrepresentations of human variability. Discussions will involve a consideration of eugenics, human genetics, IQ testing and race in sports. Students will be able to discuss the scientifically observed patterns of human variation, and articulate the reasons race is a socio-political construct rather than a biological reality. Sept 27 Exam #1 Sept 29-Oct 1 Modern primate taxonomy, skeletal morphology and behavior (Feder & Park Ch. 5) If humans share a common ancestry with the apes, how could we know? What would constitute the evidence to support such a statement? We should expect to find some ancestral fossil forms that are transitional, that share both ape-like and human-like traits. But how can we know what traits are transitional if we haven t examined the details of ape and human anatomy? Here we discuss the key skeletal elements that reveal similarities and differences among the various species classified as primates, including humans and apes. Students need to understand why apes and humans are classified as they are, and what traits indicate shared ancestry vs. divergent evolutionary trends. Oct. 4-6 Primate models for human evolution. (Feder & Park, Ch. 6) Video: Among the Wild Chimpanzees Like anatomy, behavioral comparisons can also be used to identify those behaviors that are shared due to close evolutionary relationships and those that reflect specific adaptations. You will need to learn and be able to discuss the range of complex behaviors, once thought to be unique to humans, which have now been documented in our nearest primate relatives. You should also develop an awareness of the threats to the survival of non-human primates in the wild, and the ethical issues related to the use of captive primates in medical research. 7

8 Hominid Evolution Oct. 8 The physical record of prehistoric change. Fossilization and the material record; prehistoric dating techniques. (Feder &Park, Ch. 7) How can we know about the ancient past? How do we apply the principle of actualism to the evidence for human evolutionary change? Chapter 7 provides an overview of several kinds of prehistoric dating techniques, as well as methods for interpreting past lifeways. The process of fossilization will be discussed in supplementary lecture material. Students will gain a general understanding of how scientists can know what happened in the past and when it happened. Oct The fossil evidence for the beginnings of humanity. (Feder &Park, Ch. 8) Video: Discovering Ardi(pithecus) The general public has often been led to believe that fossil evidence for human evolution is nonexistent, or at least not extensive, or at least equivocal and problematical. Such suggestions are misleading, if not disingenuous. In this unit, you will begin learning about some of the key specimens from among a sizable collection of hominid fossils, the evidence that defines our own ancestry. You should be able to discuss the key traits that are used to identify animals as hominids, and how they differ from the pongids (apes). You should also be able to explain why the different genera of fossil hominids are classified as they are. That is, in what ways did they differ anatomically, and how do scientists think those distinctions reflect different adaptations? Oct Development of the genus Homo. (Feder & Park, Ch. 9) Video: Surviving in Africa What sort of evidence do we have for the beginnings of human technology? The answer: stone tools. Students will be introduced to stone tool technology as a measure of hominid cognitive development and adaptation. It will be necessary to understand the basic principles of stone tool manufacture, and the general patterns of prehistoric culture change represented by stone tools in the archeological record. We will also consider the importance of brain size in human evolution as it relates to tool manufacture and other cultural developments such as meat consumption. Oct Evolution of modern humans... Where do the Neanderthals fit? How about the recently discovered Hobbits? (Feder & Park, Ch.10) Scientists agree that modern humans evolved from earlier humans. However, some of the details of the process are still being debated. Most of the discussion involves different interpretations about the timing and location of the development of modern humans. Some of the most important evidence in this debate revolves around the evolution of Neanderthal populations in Europe, and their potential relationship to the later-arriving, modern humans. Also bearing on this issue is genetic evidence for the African origin of all modern humans. Students will be able to identify and 8

9 explain the two main competing views about the evolution of modern humans, the Recent African Origin (RAO) model, and the Multiregional Evolution (MRE) model. Nov. 1 Exam #2 Modern Humanity & Key Cultural Changes Nov. 3-5 The beginnings of art and science. (Feder & Park, Ch. 10) Video: The Creative Revolution Until this point in the course we have emphasized the genetic and fossil evidence for human evolution; that is, human biological evolution. However, for perhaps the past 50,000 years, most of the changes in our species have been the result of cultural evolution. The human species is a product of both biological and cultural evolution, but biological changes played a more prominent role in the early evolution of humans, while cultural changes have dominated the more recent developments that characterize our species. Many researchers think it is possible to identify the beginnings of modern humanity by studying archeological finds and prehistoric behaviors indicative of complex symbolic thought. You will be expected to be able to demonstrate understanding of the sorts of archeological patterns that are considered indicative of fully modern universal mental abilities. Nov The Upper Paleolithic and the peopling of the New World (Feder & Park, Ch. 11) In this unit, we will evaluate the traditional view of the peopling of the New World, often referred to as the Clovis-first model. We will also consider the corollary idea that the extinction of the Pleistocene fauna was caused by the killing efficiency of the Clovis hunters the Overkill model of Pleistocene extinctions. We will also consider some of the criticisms of the Clovis-first model and learn about some alternative views that make up the Pre-Clovis model. Students should be able to summarize the two basic models and evaluate the evidence that has been used to support them. In the process, you will also be expected to gain an understanding of the evidence for global changes in climate, glacier ice and sea levels relevant to contemporary discussions of global warming. Nov The origins of agriculture. (Feder & Park, Ch. 12) The beginnings of agriculture and animal husbandry mark the most fundamental shift in human adaptation ever recorded. Not surprisingly, a development of this magnitude has been the subject of a great deal of archeological research; many scholars have contributed to our understanding of where food production was developed, when it happened, and why. This unit will provide a brief introduction to each of these various and complex topics. Students will be expected to demonstrate a basic understanding of what food production is and what its consequences are, both positive and negative. You will be expected to know where and when different sorts of plants and animals were domesticated. You should also be able to summarize the various theoretical explanations proposed for the beginnings of food production, and evaluate the evidence used to support those views. 9

10 Nov The agricultural trap and global warming. Video: Food, Inc. There is now an overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming is real, that human actions are making a significant contribution to warming, and that warming will have devastating consequences for all of us. You should be able to demonstrate a basic understanding of what global warming is, and what scientists understand to be the causes and mechanisms involved. You should also be able to recognize some of the spurious arguments used by those who deny the reality of global warming. Finally, you should be able to discuss how global warming is part of the evolutionary trajectory of modern humans, how it can be viewed as a consequence of the food production revolution, and what we might do in response to the problems it poses. Nov Thanksgiving Break; no classes Nov. 29-Dec 1 The evolution of civilizations; patterns of growth and collapse (Feder & Park, Ch. 13) What is civilization? What does it mean to be civilized? There are specific characteristics used by archeologists to define this most complex level of socio-political organization. The traits are detailed in Chapter 13 and you need to be prepared to discuss them in class. You should also become familiar with the range of explanations or causes that have been proposed to account for the evolution of civilizations. You should learn about some of the reasons prehistoric and historic civilizations have collapsed, and how those cases might relate to problems in our own society. We will consider things such as globalization, pollution, and oil dependency as issues that may challenge our assumption that our society is sustainable over the long term. Dec. 3 Dec. 10 Dead Day Final Exam (1:00-3:45 PM) 10