ECTS - University of Pisa
Scheda programma d'esame
ANTHROPOLOGY
GIOVANNI BOSCHIAN
Academic year2016/17
CourseBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Code088EE
Credits6
PeriodSemester 1
LanguageItalian

ModulesAreaTypeHoursTeacher(s)
ANTROPOLOGIABIO/08LEZIONI52
GIOVANNI BOSCHIAN unimap
Programma non disponibile nella lingua selezionata
Learning outcomes
Knowledge
This course will provide the students with a basic knowledge of methods in Anthropology and Palaeoanthropology, and of the phylogenesis of the Hominins. The basics of the course are systematics and evolution of the Hominins, morphospecies characteristics, environmental and cultural contextualisation of the species. After completing the course, the students will have a general knowledge of evolutionary processes of the Hominins, and will be able to recognise the main representative fossils of the family, and to critically evaluate their position within the evolutionary process. Some basic topics of molecular anthropology will also be dealt with.
Assessment criteria of knowledge
The student will be requested to demonstrate his/her in-deep knowledge of the course topics, and to critically use the acquired skills in evaluating evolutionary contexts and problems.

Methods:

  • Final oral exam
  • Final laboratory practical demonstration

Further information:
Students will be requested to recognise basic diagnostic features on cranial casts from the Department of Biology collection.
Teaching methods

Delivery: face to face

Learning activities:

  • attending lectures
  • participation in discussions
  • individual study

Attendance: Advised

Teaching methods:

  • Lectures
Syllabus
Darwin's theories, perspective change about evolution through time. Humans as productors of culture: physical and cultural change. Shape of the Hominin body, adaptation, evolution, diachronic change. The African origins of Humankind. Environmental aspects, climate change, from putative and archaic hominins to Homo. Homo spread out of Africa, from H. ergaster/erectus to H. sapiens. Evolutionary and environmental aspects. Modern species and modern behaviour. Relationships among species, substitution, gene exchange.
Bibliography
Biondi G., Martini F., Rickards O., Rotilio G. 2006. In carne e ossa. DNA, cibo e culture dell’uomo preistorico. Laterza, 231 p. Tattersall I. 2004. Il cammino dell’Uomo. Garzanti, 222 p. Tattersall I. 2009. Il mondo prima della storia. Raffaello Cortina Editore, 192 p. Stringer C., Andrews P. 2006. Storia completa dell’evoluzione umana. Logos, 240 p. Lewin R. 2005. Human Evolution. An Illustrated Introduction (Fifth Edition). Blackwell Publishing, 277 p. Wood B. 2005. Human Evolution. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 131 p.
Updated: 14/11/2016 17:27