Aim of Course: A detailed survey of all phases of human evolution from the earliest fossil record of apes to the origin and diversification of the hominid family and the appearance of modern peoples. Evidence drawn from paleontology, comparative anatomy, biomolecular studies and archaeology will be considered in an evolutionary perspective.

Required Textbooks:

Klein, Richard The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1999, 2nd Edition
Ciochon, Russell & Fleagle, John (Editors) The Human Evolution Source Book, Prentice Hall, 1993

Web Reading, PDF Articles and Handouts:

In addition to the readings assigned from the textbooks, other articles will be assigned from my website (http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/). Some articles on this website are HTML files while others will be downloadable as PDF files. Some web video clips may also be assigned for viewing from this website. A portion of my website under heading "Courses" has been specifically designed for this course. A copy of the syllabus will also be posted to this location. In addition, a few articles may also be handed out in class.

Research Paper: A final examination research paper of at least 15 pages in length (double-spaced, Times Roman 12pt font) is required. This paper is expected to be a detailed review of one particular aspect of human evolution. The topic for the paper is to be chosen by the student in consultation with the professor. During the final few meetings of the class each student is expected to give an oral presentation of the topic of her or his research paper. The final exam paper is due at the beginning of the final exam period for this course, May 12 at 4:30pm in MH 114.

Grading:

Midterm Exam #1: 30%
Midterm Exam #2: 30%
Final Exam Paper: 30%
Class Participation & Oral Presentation 10%

Makeup Examination Policy: My general policy is not to allow makeup exams except in extraordinary cases where a student can document that he or she has been hospitalized, imprisoned or otherwise prevented from taking the exam. To allow any other policy is simply not fair to the great majority of students who do take the exam at the scheduled time.

Office Hours: My posted office hours are Tuesday and Thursday from 1:00pm to 2:30pm. However, I can usually be found most afternoons or evenings in the Laboratory of Biological Anthropology in MH 26 -- please stop by anytime. If the lab is busy we can go to my office in 129 MH to talk. Each student is required to come talk with me about her or his research paper topic at least four weeks before the beginning of the student presentations.

Student Rights and Responsibilities: If you have a complaint about any aspect of this class or my teaching, I hope you would talk with me about it. If you do not feel confortable about talking with me, you can meet with the Chair of Anthropology, Prof. Florence Babb. Her office is located in Macbride Hall in room 113A. The Department phone number is 335-0522. Plagiarism results in automatic failure of the course and will be reported to the Dean for possible explusion from school. It may be considered plagiarism if you: 1) use a paper or portions of a paper that someone else wrote, or 2) use thoughts, ideas or words of another writer without giving that writer credit in your paper. Cheating on exams will not be tolerated. The College of Liberal Arts policy on cheating is printed in the Student Academic Handbook. Incidences of cheating will be reported to the Dean and can result in your suspension or explusion from the University of Iowa.

University of Iowa Spring Semester 2003
Department of Anthropology Prof. R.L. Ciochon

Anthropology 113:187

HUMAN EVOLUTION

Course Syllabus
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Week Date Topic Readings
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1 1/21 Introduction & Orientation -

1/23 Fossil Recovery and Interpretation K2, C9

2 1/28 Stratigraphy and Absolute Dating Methods K1-2, C9

1/30 Evolutionary theory and Comparative Anatomy K1-2, C5-8

3 2/04 Biomolecular Evidence for Hominoid Evolution K3, C1-4, Web

2/06 The Miocene Hominoid Radiation K3, C1, Web

4 2/11 East African Australopithecines K4, C10-14, Web

2/13 East African Australopithecines K4, C10-14, Web

5 2/18 South African Australopithecines K4, C10,15-16, Web

2/20 Evolution of Bipedalism in Early Hominids K4, C6, C17-19, Web

6 2/25 Theoretical Perspectives of Hominid Origins K4, C20-25, Web

2/27 MIDTERM #1

7 3/04 Early Homo: Historical Perspectives K4, C26-29, Web

3/06 Early Homo: New Views K4, C30-33, Web

8 3/11 The Dispersal of Early Homo K5, Web

3/13 Homo erectus: History of Discovery K5, C34-36, Web

9 3/18 Spring Break -

3/20 Spring Break -

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Week Date Topic Readings
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10 3/25 Homo erectus: Trends & New Views K5, C37-40, Web

3/27 Homo heidelbergensis and Dispersal K5, C42-45, Web

11 4/01 Eve Hypothesis vs. Regional Continuity K5, C46-48, Web

4/03 Neandertals: Anatomy & History K6, C49-55, Web

12 4/08 Neandertals vs. Modern Homo sapiens K6, C49-55, Web

4/10 Anatomically Modern Humans K7, C59-60, Web

13 4/15 New Views on the Dispersal of A. M. Homo sapiens K7, Web

4/17 Considerations of Race and the Spread
Modern Peoples K7, C56-58, Web

14 4/22 No Class - Professor is attending AAPA Meetings -

4/24 Review Period

15 4/29 MIDTERM #2 -

5/01 Student Presentations -

16 5/06 Student Presentations -

5/08 Student Presentations -

5/12 Final Examination Papers Due at 4:30pm in MH 114

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K --- The Human Career, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1999

C --- Ciochon & Fleagle The Human Evolution Source Book, Prentice Hall, 1993

Web --- Web readings are uploaded to my web site: http://www.uiowa.edu/~bioanth/
On the web site, these are listed under the "courses" section by lecture date