SOAN 207 - Biological Anthropology

Credits: 3 This course considers the emergence and evolution of Homo sapiens from fossil, archaeological, and genetic evidence. The class focuses on evolutionary mechanisms; selective pressures for key human biological and behavioral patterns, such as bipedalism, intelligence, altruism, learned behavior, and expressive culture; relations among prehuman species; the human diaspora; and modern human diversity, particularly “racial” variation. The course also examines theories from sociobiology and evolutionary psychology about motivations for modern human behaviors. FDR: SS4 Bell.