Course Description
Theoretical population ecology applied to human populations. Biocultural aspects and multiplicity of causality in discussion/assessment of topics such as: human demography and population regulation; disease ecology and epidemiology in human populations; interrelationships of human nutrition, social inequity, resource exploitation, and population mobility/migration/spatial organization.
Athena Title
HUMAN POPUL ECOL
Prerequisite
ANTH 6490 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
I. Attainment of critical knowledge of basic concepts in population ecology and their applicability to human populations, as they are studied by anthropologists. II. Understanding of interacting biocultural variables and the multiplicity of causality in human population ecology. III. Realization of limitations and potential for future development of the area.
Topical Outline
I. Discussion/Critical evaluation from the anthropological perspective of terms and concepts in population ecology and their application to human populations. II. Theoretical and practical issues and approaches. A. Biocultural interaction B. Levels of analysis (individual to populations) C. The multifactorial environment and human "adaptability" D. Inter- and intra-population variation III. Discussion/assessment of current knowledge. A. Human demography and population regulation: The interaction of environment, biology and culture. 1) Prehistoric and historic patterns/changes/fluctuations 2) Human health and fertility 3) Culture and human reproduction B. Disease ecology, epidemiology and culture. 1) Co-evolution of human hosts and disease agents 2) Human population genetics and disease 3) Disease limiting/promoting aspects of human behavior C. Resource exploitation, social inequity/complexity, and human nutrition. 1) Optimal foraging in human populations 2) The agricultural transition 3) Interrelationships of human subsistence, resource distribution and abundance, and human population mobility/migration/spatial organization.