Science Course 634: The Human Animal Professor Joyce Powzyk Office: Hall-Atwater Room 101 Phone and e-mail: 860-685-3391 [email protected] Lecture 1: From Oceans to The Trees-Evolutionary Scenarios/ Selection Pressures on Primate Evolution (Predation-Mates-Food-Pathogens) Natural Selection and the Genetics of Inheritance/ Adaptations/ Mitosis & Meiosis/ Phenotype & Genotype/ Variation & Mutations/ Mitochondrial Genetics & Y Chromosomal Genetics Lecture 2: Ancestral Primates & Primate Speciation/ Primate Traits/ Primate Invasions & Distributions/ Paleoanthropology/ Extant Primates/ Primate Development/ Instinct vs. Learned Behaviors/ Harlow Experiments/ Sexual Dimorphism & Monomorphic Species/ Paedomorphism Lecture 3: Human Lineage/ Australopithecines-Homo habilis-Homo erectus-Homo neanderthalensis-Homo floresiensis (‘hobbit’)-Homo sapiens/ Bipedalism & pelvis/ Foot Arch, Back Arch, Pelvis, Lumbar Curve & Clavicle/ Early Hominids in Africa/ Australopithecines-Taung Child Insights/ Migration out of Africa/ Lecture 4: Other Aspects of Hominid Anatomy- Brain Size-Neoteny/ Disease Vectors- Immune System Response/ Tool Use in Nonhuman Primates and Human Primates, Opposable and Semi-Opposable Thumb-Tactile/ Hair Loss/ Male-Male Competition/ Fighting and the Human Hand/ Female Competition/ Fertility Cues- Waist to Hip Ratio/ Concealed Ovulation/ Father At Home Theory Lecture 5: Human Evolution Movie/ Darwin & Wallace/ Case Study of ‘Ice Man’ from Italy/ Piltdown Man/ Politics of Human Evolution/ Interbreeding with Neanderthals and Neanderthal Genes/ 23 & Me/ Monogamy & Fossil Footprints/ Who Leaves Home?/ Male Beards/ Women’s Innate Fear of Snakes Lecture 6: Alcohol Consumption in Primates (aye-aye & humans)/ Role of Bitter Foods & Antioxidants/ Pica/ Use of Fire-Cooked Food and Concentrated Calories-Jaw & Teeth Changes/ Maillard Reaction/ Kinship & Social Groups/ Do Primates Have Innate Bias?/ Infanticide/ Dunbar Number/ Mortality and Childbirth/ Postpartum Depression/ Childcare/ Prepubertal Interaction Theory Lecture 7: Midterm Exam/ Sex Differences (Food Foraging, Stress Response)/ Brain Lobe Maturation-Physical Prowess/ Body Fat & Starvation Risks/ Testosterone-Estrogen Influences Lecture 8: Student Presentations/Bonobo Movie Lecture 9: Language Studies/ Click Languages ‘Khoisan’/ Language Acquisition/ Information Transfer in Primate Grooming/ Macaveillian Intelligence/ Deceptive Behavior in Nonhuman Primates/ Domestication of Plants & Animals by Humans (Dogs-Cattle-Sheep- Goats-Chickens-Horses)/ Digestion of Milk into Adulthood/ Gene Selection For Reduced Stress Response In Domesticated Animals Lecture 10: Humans Exploiting Other Animal Species (Eagles in Tibet, Cormorants in China, Asian Elephants in Thailand) Insights from the Aka Tribe/ Inbreeding in Iceland/ Bushmen of Kalahari/ Inbreeding Taboos-Pheromone Attraction/ Margaret Mead and the Samoans/ Nubians & Role of Music Lecture 11: Sexual Selection & Geoffrey Miller/ E.O.Wilson Sociobiology From Ants to Humans/ Theory on Enhanced Human Cognition & Human Culture (Arts)/ in class debate on Sociobiology, The Evolution of Beauty Lecture 12: Longevity in Humans/ Blood Groups/ Sickle-Cell Anemia/ Rhesus Factor/ Exercise and Health/ Sunlight & Vitamin D/ Effects of Prophylactic Birth Control Human Food Allergies/ Sugar, Fat Food Addictions/ Guns/ Disease Epidemics/ Advances in Human Genetic Engineering-CRISPR/ Are Humans Driving Evolution- The Anthropocene Era FINAL EXAM (take home) to be scheduled Class attendance is mandatory and attendance is taken throughout the semester. Final class grade is determined by a midterm exam (25%), research paper presentation (25%), final exam (25%), classroom debate (15%), and overall classroom discussion (10%). Selected Readings will be taken from: The Story of the Human Body, by David Leiberman Human Evolution: Our Brains and Behavior, by Robin Dunbar Evolution: The Human Story, by Alice Roberts The Complete World of Human Evolution, by Chris Stringer (2nd Edition) 2 .