Legacy Course Catalog
ANTH A105 - Human Origins and Prehistory
| Effectivity: | 08/18/2001 - Fall 2007 *** @ IU Technology Statewide |
|---|---|
| Credits: | 3 |
| Instructional Types: | Lec |
| Usually Offered: | fal spr sum |
| Short Title: | Human Origins & Prehis |
| Description: | The focus of the course is the biological and cultural evolution of the human species. The first half of the course will examine a variety of "background" issues such as the history of evolutionary thought, modern evolutionary theory, techniques for dating the past, the nature of the fossil and archaeological record, the biological relationships of humans to our closest relatives, and the fossil record of those forms ancestral or closely related to the earliest humans. The second half of the course will begin with the appearance in the fossil record, about 5 million years ago in eastern and southern Africa, of the Australopithecines, a "proto-human" form that is clearly ancestral to our species, and the appearance "shortly" thereafter (about 2.5 million years ago) in this area of the first definite evidence of cultural (as opposed to purely biological) behavior. With the appearance of purposely made stone tools at this time our concern broadens to include both biological and cultural evolution (and the interaction of the two), as early humans expanded out of their original homeland and adapted to diverse environmental situations using an increasingly complex array of cultural mechanisms. |
| Department: | Iupui Courses |
| Credit By Exam: | NO |
| Repeatable Flag: | NO |
| Temporary Flag: | NO |
| Full Time Privilege Flag: | NO |
| Honors Flag: | NO |
| Variable Title Flag: | NO |
Fall 2007 *** indicates the course was still an active course and was transferred to the Banner Catalog effective Spring 2008. This course was not expired Fall 2007.
