Human Ancestors

This course examines the development of humans from an evolutionary and biocultural perspective. As a biocultural species, we are the products of the interaction between our biology, our social lives, and the wider environment. The processes of evolution that have shaped our anatomy, cognition, and cultural systems have left material traces that make up the fossil, archaeological, and genomic records. In this course, we investigate the evidence of human evolution, learn how inferences about biomechanics and behavior are drawn from skeletal material, critically examine the challenges of an incomplete material record, and explore theoretical frameworks and controversies on important issues such as the nature of biological species, human variation, and the relationship between humans and our environment. At its core, this class challenges concepts of human uniqueness and unpack what it is to be human.