Biological Anthropology 19-AF-23-Arch
Definition and scope of physical anthropology, history of the discipline, anthropology in Poland, relations of physical anthropology with other disciplines, elements of methodology of natural sciences, natural sciences and humanities. Primates: knowledge on the origins of hominids, man’s place in the animal kingdom, modern families of primates, biological, ecological and ethological characteristics of primates. The origin of the species Homo: the process of hominization, the origin of Hominidae, the evolution of the genus Homo, the origin of Homo sapiens. Reconstruction of the history of humankind, adaptation and differentiation processes of human populations. Intraspecies differentiation of modern humans, biological division of the human species. Modern humans and their biocultural evolution. Description of individual biological traits and biological structure of the populations, fundamentals of population genetics. Biology of prehistoric populations – research potential, interpretation, application: documentation of the skeletal grave of an adult and a child, anthropological analysis of cremated bones, reconstruction of individual biological traits from the skeleton: sex and age at death assessments, height and weight, cranial and postcranial measurements, skeletal stress markers. Paleopathology and paleodemography. Man and environment, introduction to the human ecology.
Module learning aims
Major
Cycle of studies
Module type
Year of studies (where relevant)
Course coordinators
Learning outcomes
The student can describe physical anthropology as a scientific discipline and show its relations with other sciences; is able to present biological and behavioral traits of the primates and locate the man among them; can characterize the process of hominization and describe morphological features and cultural systems of the ancestors of modern humans; is able to discuss the processes leading to the modern biological differentiation of human populations and knows the ways of its division; can indicate transformations in the biocultural systems; knows the methods of recovery and documentation of skeletal remains, is able to make an inventory of the skeleton of an adult and a child, knows the cognitive value of sex and age at death assessments and other biological features reconstructed from the human skeleton; the student can take cranial and postcranial measurements according to the anthropological standards and is acquainted with the principles of the analysis of cremated bones, knows the concept of stress in biology and can assess the cognitive value of the skeletal stress markers in the studies of prehistoric populations, knows the basic concepts and research assumptions applied in paleodemography, paleopathology and human ecology.
Assessment criteria
Class participation and final exam.
Bibliography
Podręczniki
Malinowski A., J. Strzałko (red.), 1989, Antropologia, PWN, Warszawa-Poznań.
Piontek J., 1996, Biologia populacji pradziejowych. Zarys metodyczny, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań.
Roger Lewin, 2002, Wprowadzenie do ewolucji człowieka, Prószyński i S-ka.
Materiały źródłowe
Piontek J. (red.), 1988, Szkice z antropologii ogólnej. Propozycje teoretyczno-metodyczne badań społeczeństw pradziejowych, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań.
Piontek J., A. Wiercińska (red.), 1993, Człowiek w perspektywie ujęć biokulturowych, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, Poznań.
Piontek J., A. Malinowski (red.), 1985, Teoria i empiria w Polskiej Szkole Antropologicznej, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, seria antropologia nr 11, Poznań.
Wielka Encyklopedia Geografii Świata, tom IX, J. Piontek, A. Marciniak, 1998, "Człowiek, pierwsze cywilizacje", Wydawnictwo Kurpisz, Poznań.
Additional information
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