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Introduction to Biological Anthropology

Critical Thinking
Social Awareness & Responsibility

Course Description

Biological anthropology is the study of human biological evolution and biocultural variation. In this course, students will learn about the interdependent relationships between the environment, human adaptation, health, and culture, including human-induced effects on the environment, as well as the evolution, biology, and behavior of human ancestors and non-human primates.


Athena Title

Intro Biological Anthropology


Equivalent Courses

Not open to students with credit in ANTH 2045E, ANTH 2045W


Semester Course Offered

Offered every year.


Grading System

A - F (Traditional)


Student Learning Outcomes

  • Students will be able to recognize the importance of the scientific method and the evolutionary framework in anthropological research as well as in other scientific disciplines.
  • Students will be able to describe, through examples, the role of the environment in human (genetic) adaptation and human adaptability.
  • Students will be able to identify the major steps in our evolutionary history, including that of our closest relatives, and recognize the technologies and data used to understand the evolutionary history.
  • Students will be able to relate basic evolutionary and biological principles and concepts to current and past human diversity, including relationships between humans and the environment across time and space.
  • Students will be able to understand the interconnectedness between human activities and the environment, including ongoing challenges to human and non-human primate communities posed by global warming.
  • Students will be able to explain why race is not a biological concept but a socio-cultural construct with important consequences in real life.
  • Students will be able to develop a critical approach allowing them to distinguish between scientific and pseudoscientific arguments and understand the relationship between science and society.

Topical Outline

  • Anthropology and Biological Anthropology
  • Principle of Evolutionary Theory
  • Evolution and Human Biological Diversity: From Genes to Populations
  • Human Adaptation and Adaptability: The Relationship of Human Biology and Behavior with the Environment, including Race, Climate, and Altitude
  • Human Adaptation and Adjustment to the Environment: Food, Nutrition, and Disease
  • Primate Overview: Ecology, Behavior, and Conservation (including habitat protection)
  • Paleontology and Primate Evolution
  • The Ape-Hominine Transition
  • Early Hominine
  • Origin and Evolution of the Genus Homo
  • Emergence and Geographic/Ecological Dispersal of Homo Sapiens
  • Evolution of the Brain and Language
  • Human in the Natural World: Is Human Culture Unique?
  • Biomedical Anthropology
  • Bioarchaeology and Forensic Anthropology
  • Future Challenges Facing Humanity: Global Warming, Conservation, Violence, and Inequality

General Education Core

CORE II: Life Sciences

Institutional Competencies

Critical Thinking

The ability to pursue and comprehensively evaluate information before accepting or establishing a conclusion, decision, or action.


Social Awareness & Responsibility

The capacity to understand the interdependence of people, communities, and self in a global society.



Syllabus