Subsections
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- The study of human evolution is one of the most important and popular subjects in academics. Not only does it attempt to explain our biological origins and place in the global evolutionary chain but is also now helping to understand the role of genetics in unraveling the history of behavior and various illnesses. This course essentially presents multidisciplinary scientific evidences broadly related to human evolution and systematically covers three main scientific datasets: human paleontology, archaeology and genetics.
- Following a broad introduction to fundamental evolutionary principles, the empirical data will be presented in chronological fashion starting from the earliest evidences from Africa where the earliest bipedal hominins appeared at about 7 million years ago. This will be followed by the biological and adaptive traits of the various Australopithecine species and the earliest Homo species. The combined roles of stone tools, control of fire, and diverse subsistence strategies will be taught using specific case studies from well-studied paleoanthropological sites across the Old World. Following the time after 3 million years ago, the biological, behavioral and technological evidences will discussed through integrated multidisciplinary perspectives.
- Key conceptual issues will be taught and discussed based on the latest discoveries and associated published and online resources. These issues include the hunting vs. scavenging debate, the role of climate on animal and human evolution, the number and context of hominin dispersals, the art of naming a new hominin species, technological innovations and social exchange networks, animal overkill hypothesis, and so forth.
- Key historical milestones in human origins studies will be discussed including various intellectual figures (e.g. the Leakeys, J.D. Clark, T. White, S. Paabo) and their contributions to the discipline.
- The third component of the course will address the growing role of genetics in human evolutionary studies in the context of recent discoveries and interpretations. These include the discovery of new hominin species in Asia, complex biological relationships between various species in time and space, and the issue of interbreeding between Neanderthals and modern humans in Eurasia. Besides a basic introduction to genetics and different analytical methods to study DNA, students will be presented with specific case studies that reflect the molecular evolution at varying scales and associated mutation events. The role of DNA in identifying diseases and the evolutionary history of specific illnesses will also be included as a part of this course component.
- Laboratory component: museums and field visits; and making/using stone tools.
- Klein, R., The Human Career: Human Biological and Cultural Origins, University of Chicago Press. (2009)
- Jobling, M. et al., Human Evolutionary Genetics, Garland Science. (2013)
- Selected PDFs addressing specific paleoanthropological sites and genetic studies from Africa, Europe and Asia.
