Exploring Biological Anthropology

PrefaceChapter 1: Biological anthropology and the scientific method BackgroundScientific inquiryCritical thinkingHypothesis, fact and theoryLaboratory 1: Epistemology and the scientific method Chapter 2: Evolutionary theory BackgroundEvolutionary theoryNatural selectionGenetic drift and gene flowLaboratory introduction: Darwinian medicine, fertility, and health PathogensMicrobial communitiesHuman reproductionLaboratory 2: Explain these evolutionary scenarios Chapter 3: Genetics BackgroundMendelian inheritanceMendelian versus polygenic traitsProtein synthesisCellular reproductionLaboratory introduction: Prediction in genetics ABO blood groupHardy-WeinbergAutosomal and sex-lined traitsGenotype and phenotypeLaboratory 3: Punnett Squares, ABO and Hardy-Weinberg Chapter 4: Human osteology Part 1: The human skeletonVertebral columnPelvisPectoral girdleAppendicular skeletonSkullWorksheet for Lab 4: Identification of features Laboratory 4 (part 1): Quiz on skeletal features Part 2: Estimating age and sexAging nonadultsAging adultsSex estimationLaboratory 4 (part 2): Age and sex estimation in Homo sapiens Chapter 5: Living Primates BackgroundDiet, locomotion and social behaviorPrimate TaxonomyLaboratory introduction: Methods for observing primate behavior Sampling proceduresFormats for recording observationsTesting research questionsSocial behavior categoriesLaboratory 5 (option 1): Observing primatesLaboratory 5 (option 2): Diet, morphology and body size Chapter 6: Primate classification and comparative anatomy BackgroundPhylogeny and taxonomyCo-opting of traitsPhylogeny worksheetLaboratory introduction: Functional and craniodental anatomy Functional anatomyTeethSexual dimorphismLaboratory 6: Comparative anatomy Chapter 7: Dating methods and paleoecology BackgroundLaboratory introduction: Dating methods and habitat reconstruction Stratigraphy, biostratigraphy and biochronologyChronometric datingFluorine datingPaleomagnetic datingSouth African cavesEast African stratigraphic sequencesReconstructing the context of the remainsLaboratory 7: Dating fossils and interpreting diet Chapter 8: Primate evolution BackgroundPrecambrianPaleozoic eraMesozoic eraCenozoic eraLaboratory introduction: The primate fossil record Early primatesAnthropoidsApesEarly bipedsCeropithecid monkeysLaboratory 8: The evolution of primates, Eocene to Miocene Chapter 9: Last common ancestor and bipedalism BackgroundLaboratory introduction: Anatomy of bipedalism Laboratory 9: Structure and function of bipedal locomotion Chapter 10: Australopithecus BackgroundSouth African AustralopithecusRobust australopithecinesLaboratory introduction: Plio-Pleistocene AustralopithecusLaboratory 10: Craniofacial anatomy of Australopithecus Chapter 11: Early Homo and Homo erectus BackgroundIncreasing brain sizeLife waysMigration out of AfricaLaboratory introduction: The evolution and extinction of Homo erectus History of discoveryTaxonomyCranial morphologyLaboratory 11: Pleistocene Homo Chapter 12: Archaic H. sapiens BackgroundIsolation and Homo floresiensisNeandertalsHistorical perspectivesSkeletal traitsGeneticsLaboratory introduction: Upper Pleistocene remains of late archaic humansGrowth and developmentNeurocraniumFacePostcraniumLaboratory 12: Morphology, development and paleodemography in Archaic H. sapiens Chapter 13: Modern human origins BackgroundModernityEvolution of languageLaboratory introduction: Archaic and modern H. sapiensLaboratory 13: Modern humans and their relatives Chapter 14: Human variation BackgroundAustralia and the AmericasCategorical race and the type conceptLaboratory introduction: Adaptive and nonadaptive patterns of human variation Skin complexionClinal distributionsMale and femaleLaboratory 14: Human variation Chapter 15: Forensic anthropology and bioarchaeology BackgroundAge, sex and stature estimationStatureAncestryBioarchaeologyLaboratory introduction: Skeletal trauma and pathologyLaboratory 15: Mock cases and skeletal pathology Chapter 16: Human adaptation BackgroundLaboratory introduction: Life history theory Human growth and developmentAdult statureLife expectancy with respect to subsistence patternsThe grandmother and embodied capital hypothesesLaboratory 16: Maturation and mortality Appendix 1: Primate fossil record and geological time scale in millions of years (mya)Appendix 2: Assessment of learning outcomesAppendix 3: Textbook correlation table Appendix 4: Optional laboratory using statisticsAppendix 5: Materials for labsGlossaryBibliography