Appalachian State University Spring Semester
My office is located at 401 Sanford Hall in the Anthropology Department. I am generally available 9-5 every day (unless I am teaching or in a meeting). Feel free to stop by anytime to talk about course work, anthropology, graduate school, whatever. My office number is 828-262-7505.
Click here for the Independent Study Reading List and Course Description
Online Course Materials
Lectures are available in pdf format. You must have Adobe acrobat installed on your computer to open these files.
INTRODUCTION TO BIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Ant 1230
Required Text: Stanford et al. (2006) Introduction to Biological Anthropology
Week 1:Introduction to Anthropology and Scientific Method
Week 2: Evolutionary Theory Basics
Read: Stanford Ch. 1 Read: Stanford Ch. 2 Week 3: Introduction to Genetics
Week 4: The Modern Synthesis and Human Variation
genetics lecture A
genetics lecture B
Read: Stanford Ch. 3, 4 Read: Stanford Ch. 5, 6 Week 5: Primates as Mammals, Biodiversity
Week 6: Primate Adaptations and Lifestyles
Read: Stanford Ch. 7 Video: Life in the Trees;
Exam I: Review Session;
Exam I: Use this old exam to study.
Exam I Chapters 1-6: READ THEM AGAIN Week 7: Primate Behavioral Ecology
Week 8: Introduction to Primate Evolution
Social Climbers
Read: Stanford Ch. 8 Bonobo: Missing in Action
Read: Stanford Ch. 10; Appendix B Week 9: Paleoenvironments
Week 10: Australopithecines
Read: Stanford Ch. 9 Spring Break Exam II review: list of terms and concepts (study guides 1, 2) READ Ch 7, 8, 10 again Week 11: The Origin of the Genus Homo
Week 12: Homo erectus, Dispersal, the Muddle in the Middle, and The Hobbit
Walking with Cavemen (Wed)Exam II Friday
Read: Stanford Ch. 11-12 Read: Stanford Ch. 13 Week 13: Neandertals
Week 14: Modern Homo sapiens
The Last Neandertal
Read: Stanford Ch. 14 The Last Neandertal
Read: Stanford Ch. 15 Week 15
Finals week (review sheet)Week 16: Final exam
Biocultural Approaches to Studying Modern Humans
ANTHROPOLOGY OF HUMAN REPRODUCTION
Ant 3533: Required Texts: Hrdy (1999) Mother Nature; Ellison (2001) On Fertile Ground; Small (1998) Our Babies, OurSelves
Week 1: Mechanisms of evolution
Week 2: Sexual Selection and Perspectives
Mon: Introduction
Readings:
Ember et al.: Evolution and Genetics
Mon: Martin Luther King Jr
Ellison: Chapter 1
Hrdy: pp. 1-26, 96-114
Wed: Evolutionary Theory
Wed: misconceptions of evolution
Fri: mechanisms of evolution
Fri: the history of theories of sexual selection
Week 3: Sex
Week 4: Evolution and Human Birth
Mon: perspectives for studying human reproduction
Readings: Miracle articles on Human sexual anatomy and physiology (provided in class)
Plus: 2 handouts on anatomy and intersex conditions
Mon: Evolution of the female orgasm
Readings (handouts): Evolution of Human Birth and Bipedalism and Birth; the Obstetrical Dilemma revisited
Wed: variability in human sexes (intersex conditions)
Wed: Biocultural perspectives on birth
Fri: bio-cultural issues of sexual desire (and the feminist critiques)
Fri: Evolution of birth in hominins
Week 5: The return to the sexual cycle (Menstruation)
Week 6: Sperm, Eggs, and Gestation
Mon: Birth: 8 Women's Stories (video)
Readings: Ellison Ch. 2 and 5
Mon: Sperm Wars
Readings: Ellison Ch. 3 and Edwards (pregnancy sickness); optional: Scientific American: Evo Devo Is the New Buzzword ...
and/or: a brief outline of evo-devoWed: Desmond Morris Video
"The Biology of Love" write a critique for the midterm
(turn in Week 8 Friday)
Fri: evolutionary theories on menstruation
Week 7: Breasts and Breastfeeding
Week 8: Primate Family Planning
Mon: Breastfeeding- biology, anatomy, and physiology discussion
Readings: Ellison Ch. 3;
Hrdy: pp. 121-145;
Small: 177-212
Mon: Discussion of Contraception- primate style, fitness tradeoffs
Readings: Hrdy: pp. 175-204;
Anderson (2006)
Wed: Breasts and Breastfeeding in evolutionary perspective Wed: Maternal investment strategies and Sex-Ratios Fri: biocultural perspectives on breastfeeding Fri: Midterm Week 9: Family Planning
Week 10: Spring Break
Mon: Video: Abortion: North and South
Readings: Ellison Ch. 6;
Hrdy: pp. 351-380
Spring Break Readings: Ellison Ch. 8;
Hrdy: pp. 205-234
Wed: discussion of abortion from evolutionary and biocultural perspectives Fri: return midterms and hand in journals Week 11: Paternal Investment and Allomothering
Week 12: Dr. Robbins will be at AAPA Meeting Wed, Fri
Mon: allomothering
Readings: Hrdy: pp. 146-174; 318-350
Mon: discussion of cross cultural perspectives on PPD and infanticide
Readings: Hrdy: pp. 266-287; 288-317 Wed: Paternal investment and How do primate dads recognize their offspring? Wed: Video: Girl of a Girl: Female infanticide in India VC 10269 Fri: Postpartum biology, Support, and depression Fri: The Right to Decide: Infanticide in the US Week 13: Infant Adaptive Strategies
Week 14: Parenting
Mon: Sleeping like a baby?
Readings: Hrdy: pp. 383-451; Small pp. 139-175 Mon: Easter Break
Readings: Small: pp. 43-69; 70-108; 213-232 Wed: Infant crying Wed: Evolution and biodemography of childhood and adolescence Fri: Infant faces Fri: Gwen in Cary, NC (help) Week 15: The Post-Reproductive Period
Week 16: Final Papers Due The Grandmother Hypothesis Readings: Ellison: Ch. 7; Hawkes and O'Connell (2005)
BIOARCHAEOLOGY
Ant 3534
We will have a lecture and lab each week. Attendance is mandatory.
Required Text Books: Larsen (1997) Bioarchaeology; Scheuer and Black (2004) The Juvenile Skeleton; Ortner (2003) Identification of Pathological Conditions in Human Skeletal Remains (book is expensive so it is on reserve in library also)
Week 1: Ethics and Representation
Week 2: Skeletal Development and Skeletal Age Estimation
Lecture Read: Deloria; Klesert and Powell; Rose; Mending the Circle Lecture Read: Scheuer and Black (2004) Ch. 2-3 Week 3: Dental Development and Dental Age Estimation
Week 4: Paleodemography
Lecture Read: Scheuer and Black (2004) Ch. 5; Scheuer (2002) Lecture Read: Clarke and Low; Kirks; McCaa (1998) Week 5: Race and Biological Distance
Week 6: Biocultural Stress and Health in Prehistory
Lecture Read: Larsen Ch. 9, Lieberman, Boas Lecture Read: Larsen Ch. 1 (Intro), Goodman and Armelagos (1989) Week 7: Skeletal Stress and Dietary Markers
Week 8: Dental Developmental Stress Markers
Osteobiographies Read: Larsen Ch. 2 and 8; ABGP Ch 10 Osteobiographies Read: Larsen Ch. 7; Fitzgerald et al. (2006); Goodman et al. (1980) Week 9: Activity Markers and Degenerative Conditions
Week 10
Lecture Read: Larsen Ch. 5; Bone Formers, ABGP Ch 11 Spring Break
Read: Larsen Ch. 6 Week 11: Congenital and Developmental Defects
Week 12: Infectious Disease
Lecture Read: Ortner Ch. 4, 18, 19 Lecture Read: Larsen Ch. 3; Ortner Ch. 10; Lambert (2006) Week 13: Metabolic and Hematopoietic Disorders
Week 14: Traumatic Injury
Lecture Read: Ortner 14, 15 Read: Larsen Ch. 4; Ortner Ch. 8; Lovell (1997) Week 15: Projects
Week 16: Final Exam
Presentations
Read: Larsen Ch. 10; Ortner Ch. 7