ANTH 207 - Biological Anthropology

FDR: SS4
Credits: 3
Planned Offering: Fall 2011 and alternate years

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. Flexner.