Ecology of human evolution: biological, social and cultural approaches to hominin adaptations.

Module overview

This module explores human evolution in terms of physiological, social and cultural adaptations. It explores human ecology in the broad sense, combining not just cultural and social variability, but also physiological adaptations in past and present-day hunter-gatherers and great apes. These physiological adaptations are not just skeletal, but are also reflected in soft tissues and in surviving genotypes. We shall cover six main themes: different models of biocultural change; Human Behavioural Ecology; hominin energy budgets; brain size changes; dexterity, handedness and tool-use; social organisation over time and space. Evidence derived from primatology, ethnoarchaeology, ancient DNA, stable isotopes and Palaeolithic assemblages can be used to test models such as the Social Brain hypothesis, Daily Energy Expenditures, hominin thermoregulation and mobility/locomotion costs, and the applicability of different evolutionary mechanisms to change in the archaeological record (e.g. Lamarck versus Darwin). Lectures will be augmented by student-led seminars on key debates in palaeoanthropology and Human Behavioural Ecology.

Aims and Objectives

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Intellectual and Research Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

acquire study skills using a range of archaeological, primatological/ethnographic, biological and palaeoenvironmental data;
demonstrate a detailed knowledge of key themes in human ecology and evolution.
become familiar with interdisciplinary fields of knowledge, and how to communicate these approaches to different audiences;

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

evaluate published arguments, and present information and opinion concisely to audiences of different abilities.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

specific models from evolutionary ecology in relation to subsistence behaviour among hunter-gatherers and great apes;
the effects of palaeoenvironmental conditions on hominin behavioural and physiological variability and change (speciation and extinction);
the role of social choice and epigenetics in hominin diversity.
the increasing extent to which stable isotopic and genetic data can be combined to inform palaeoanthropological interpretations of human evolution;
the different analytical scales needed to examine processes of change in hominin populations;

Learning and Teaching

Teaching and learning methods

Teaching methods include: - Lectures - Classes/Seminars - Group-based outreach project Learning activities include: - Lectures - Classes/Seminars - Group-produced outreach materials - Independent study

Study time
Type	Hours
Lecture	22
Preparation for scheduled sessions	15
Project supervision	1
Seminar	3
Follow-up work	5
Wider reading or practice	20
Completion of assessment task	84
Total study time	150

Resources & Reading list

General Resources

Collection of fossil casts and Palaeolithic artefacts in the John Wymer Laboratory. 65a/1205

Textbooks

Kelly, R.L. (2013). The Lifeways of Hunter-Gatherers: The foraging spectrum. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Klein, R.G. (2009). The human career: human biological and cultural origins. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Dunbar, R. (2014). Human Evolution: A Pelican Introduction. London: Pelican/Penguin Books.

Lee, R.B. & R. Daly (eds.) (1999). The Cambridge Encyclopedia of hunters & gatherers. Cambridge: CUP.

Gamble, C.S (1999). The Palaeolithic Societies of Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Shryock, A. & D.L. Smail (et al.) (2011). Deep History: The architecture of past and present. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Dunbar, R.I.M., Gamble, C. & J.A.J. Gowlett (eds.) (2014). Lucy to Language: The benchmark papers. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Strier, K.B. (2011). Primate Behavioral Ecology. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.

Gamble C.S. (2007). Origins and revolutions: human identity in earliest prehistory. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Allen, N.J., Callan, H., Dunbar, R. & W. James (eds.) (2011). Early Human Kinship: From sex to social reproduction. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell & Royal Anthropological Institute.

Whallon, R., Lovis, W.A. & R.K. Hitchcock (eds.) (2011). Information and its role in hunter-gatherer bands. Los Angeles: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press (Ideas, Debates and Perspectives 5).

Stringer, C. & P. Andrews (2005). The complete world of human evolution. London: Thames & Hudson.

de Beaune, S.A., Coolidge, F.L. & T. Wynn (eds.) (2009). Cognitive Archaeology and Human Evolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Panter-Brick, C., Layton, R.H. & P. Rowley-Conwy (eds.) (2001). Hunter-Gatherers: An interdisciplinary perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Gamble, C. (2013). Settling the Earth: The Archaeology of deep human history. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Assessment

Assessment strategy

There are two assignments for this module: (1) a group-based public engagement project to convey complex ideas about human evolution to an interested lay audience, and (2) an essay exploring a key theme of human evolution and ecology in depth (independent research).

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Essay	60%
Written assignment	40%

Referral

This is how we’ll assess you if you don’t meet the criteria to pass this module.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Coursework	100%

Repeat

An internal repeat is where you take all of your modules again, including any you passed. An external repeat is where you only re-take the modules you failed.

Breakdown
Method	Percentage contribution
Individual project	40%
Essay	60%

Repeat Information

Repeat type: Internal & External