04328 - Paleoanthropology

Learning outcomes

The course aims to provide basic information about human origin and biocultural evolution based on the study of the palaeoanthropological fossil record and the context the fossils were retrieved. At the end of the course, the student will acquire fundamental knowledge to interpret, from an evolutionary point of view, the human fossil record, and he/she will be able to place those fossils in a proper chronological, environmental, ecological and archaeological context. Ultimately, the student will be able to suggest potential scenario that underpin the different phases of human evolution.

Course contents

The first part of the course deals with the principles of evolutionary biology, as well as fossilization processes and dating methods. The second part involves the study of human evolution from a biological and, to a lesser extent, cultural point of view. The specific course topics are:

Contents and methods of Paleoanthropology: Paleoanthropology as a branch of Physical Anthropology; history of evolutionary thought; Darwin's evolutionary theory and the synthetic theory of evolution; principles of evolutionary biology; micro- and macroevolutionary mechanisms and speciation processes; fossils and fossilization processes; relative and absolute dating techniques; introduction to skeletal system anatomy.

Primates: the order Primates; general morphological traits and classification of Primates; anatomical-functional modifications of the masticatory apparatus, locomotor apparatus and posture; chronological and palaeogeographical context of primate evolution; Primate palaeontology and phylogeny.

Early hominins: The environment during the late Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene; early potential hominins; australopithecus; paranthropus; bipedalism; anatomical changes related to bipedal locomotion; paleontological evidence of bipedal locomotion; hypothesis about the evolution of bipedalism.

Homo: the rise of the genus Homo; Homo ergaster/erectus; earliest Homo out of Africa; earliest peopling of Europe; Homo heidelbergensis; Homo neanderthalensis; Homo denisoviensis; Homo floresiensis; Homo naledi; emergence and dispersal of Homo sapiens out of Africa in Eurasia, Australia and America.

Readings/Bibliography

Slides of the lessons

 

G. MANZI. Il grande racconto dell'evoluzione umana. Ed. Il Mulino, 2013.

 

Optional:

Robert Jurmain, Lynn Kilgore, Wenda Trevathan, Russell L. Ciochon,Eric Bartelink. Introduction to Physical Anthropology. 15 Edition. Cengage Learning, Boston (USA).

 

Conroy GC, Pontzer H. Reconstructing Human Origins. A Modern Synthesis. Third edition. W.W. Norton & Company, New York, 2012

 

Teaching methods

The course consists of frontal lectures related to the topics of the programme, which can be supplemented by seminars on specific topics. During the course PowerPoint presentations will be used, which will be supplied to the students by means of dedicated online platforms. Osteological and archaeological artefacts might be used during the course to support the teaching.

Assessment methods

The final exam consists in an oral examination on the whole programme, which can be sustained from the first useful scheduled exam after the end of the lessons, concerning the topics indicated in the course programme. At the begin of the exam, the student may propose to discuss about a specific topic, followed by further questions aimed at verifying the overall preparation.

The final vote of the exam is based on the scientific and methodological knowledge of the student on the arguments discussed during the exam. Moreover, correct use of language, coupled with critical examination of the covered topics and interdisciplinary linkage, will be also evaluated.

Students not attending. The program of the course is the same for both students attending and not attending. Owing to the nature of the course, frequency of the lessons is strongly recommended. However, students who for valid reasons cannot attend the course are invited to contact the teacher, during the office hours, for the suggestion of potential supplementary texts.

Integrated course. The student who has included in his study plan the integrated course of "Physical anthropology and Paleoanthropology" of 12 CFU, consisting of the two modules of "Physical anthropology" and "Paleoanthropology", it will be able to support both separately the test of each of the two modules, starting from the first scheduled exam useful at the end of the respective lessons, or together, in the same exam, at the end of the entire didactic cycle. The verbalization of the examination will take place in any case after the passing of both modules and the overall vote shall be given by the average of the votes achieved in each of the two modules.

Teaching tools

PowerPoint presentations. Seminars on specific topics and case studies held by specialists. Exercise in osteology using human skeletal remains.

Links to further information

http://www.unibo.it/docenti/stefano.benazzi

Office hours

See the website of Stefano Benazzi