32706 - Human Palaeontology I

Learning outcomes

The course reconstructs the origin and evolutionary history of man within the context of primate phylogeny. The student must master the methods of palaeontology, mainly involving the analysis of fossil specimens and the context of their discovery; he/she must also acquire adequate knowledge of the mechanisms and timing of the evolutionary process and the environment in which it took place; finally, he/she must acquire thorough knowledge of the evolution of non-human primates and of man, as reconstructed from the most important fossil specimens and from molecular genetics.

Course contents

The first part of the course deals with the formation of fossils, the principles of evolutionary biology and the methods to study palaeontological specimens. The second part involves the systematic study of the most important palaeoanthropological finds and the reconstruction of primate phylogeny and the evolutionary, biological and cultural history of man. The specific course topics are: Contents and methods of human palaeontology. History of evolutionary thinking. Darwin's evolutionary theory and the synthetic theory of evolution. Principles of evolutionary biology. Micro- and macroevolutionary mechanisms and speciation processes. Fossils and evolution. Fossils and fossilization processes. Elements of geological chronology. Methods of dating palaeoanthropological specimens. Methods and criteria of the study of fossils. Elements of anatomy and skeletal morphology. The order Primates. General traits and classification of primates. The human-anthropomorphic ape comparison. Anatomical-functional modifications of the masticatory apparatus, locomotor apparatus and posture, and skull and brain during primate and human evolution. Chronological outline and palaeogeographical context of primate and human evolution. Palaeontology and phylogeny of primates. The environment of hominization. Bipedalism and conquest of the savannah. The human threshold. Stages of biological and cultural evolution from the first hominids to anatomically modern man. The peopling of America and Australia.

Readings/Bibliography

A.G. DRUSINI, D.R. SWINDLER, Paleontologia umana – Evoluzione, adattamento, cultura. Jaca Book, Milano, 1996.
F. MALLEGNI (ed), Come eravamo, LTU Guarguaglini, Pisa, 2001.
B. CHIARELLI (ed.), Dalla natura alla cultura - Principi di Antropologia Biologica e culturale, Vol. 1, Evoluzione dei Primati e origine dell'Uomo, Piccin Nuova Libreria, Padova, 2003.  

F. MALLEGNI. Mutationes. La lunga traccia dell'evoluzione umana. CISU, Roma, 2010.

Teaching methods

The course is based on lectures dealing with the program topics, supplemented by seminars on specific subjects.

Assessment methods

Student evaluation consists of an oral exam on the entire course program. The student must show that he/she has acquired adequate general and systematic knowledge of the various topics and has mastered the scientific and methodological tools necessary for a reasoned analysis and criticism of the program subjects.

Teaching tools

The course is based on lectures dealing with the program topics, supplemented by seminars on specific subjects.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Gruppioni