Module ANTH4128: Cousins and Ancestors (a)

Department: Anthropology

ANTH4128: Cousins and Ancestors (a)

Prerequisites

• ANTH2071 Our Place in Nature and ANTH2061 Evolution, Variation and Adaptation

Corequisites

• None

Excluded Combination of Modules

• Cannot be taken with ANTH4058 Minds and Monkeys (a or b); cannot be taken if ANTH NEW Primate Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour was taken at Level 3.

Aims

• To introduce students to advanced topics in primate behaviour.
• To examine the evolution of primate societies and how environmental and demographic factors influence animals' decisions about how to organise their social and reproductive strategies
• Special regard is paid to understanding key theoretical concepts and how these may be applied to empirical studies of non-human primates
• To provide students with a detailed knowledge of hominin evolution and its ecological, geographical and geological contextual associations
• To acquaint students with palaeoecological theory as it applies to the hominin fossil record.
• To acquaint students with differing approaches to the study of evolutionary diversity and their associated methods, analytical techniques and theoretical frameworks
• To promote critical and interpretative skills through the study of current substantive issues in the subject and to develop an ability to evaluate alternative kinds of evidence and competing interpretations.

Content

• Determinants of Primate Group Size and Social Structure
• Resource Competition and Territoriality
• Predation and Primate Behaviour
• Social Relationships, Grooming and Reconciliation
• Sexual Selection and Reproductive Strategies
• Sexual Dimorphism
• Sexual Conflict and Infanticide
• Primate Life Histories Hominin evolution and diversity
• Hominin morphological and behavioural adaptations
• Palaeoenvironmental context of Plio-Pleistocene hominin evolution
• Methods for reconstructing past habits
• Mammalian functional morphology
• Growth and development in hominin and mammalian evolution

Learning Outcomes

• By the end of the module students will have developed:
• A firm grasp of contemporary evolutionary theory and the way in which it has been extended to understand reproductive and social behaviour of primates.
• An advanced understanding of current issues in primate behavioural ecology
• An advanced knowledge of palaeoanthropology and palaeoecology
• The ability to apply an evolutionary perspective to studies of the hominin and non-hominin mammal fossil record
• The ability to critically consider phylogenetic and functional analyses of palaeoanthropological and palaeontological data

• By the end of the module students will have developed:
• an ability to examine the literature critically and evaluate theoretical models based on available data, including awareness of limitations in the quality of data and the way it is handled, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of the models themselves.
• Ability to search for relevant articles and analyse the recent literature
• Ability to synthesise, critically evaluate and present complex scientific material including data, interpretive models and theoretical arguments

• By the end of the module students will be able to:
• Express themselves clearly and concisely on specialised topics, and explain why particular issues are important and/or controversial, in both presentations and in writing.

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Seminars centred on student presentations facilitate library research and independent and peer-learning. They allow students to interrogate the primary literature and work through and discuss key arguments of important topics in primate behaviour and palaeoanthropology, as well as to interrogate the key positions and arguments of important authors.
• Practicals give students hands-on experience with hominin fossil casts and methods for analysing fossil remains. They also provide a milieu in which issues of practical importance to the study of hominin evolution can be discussed.
• Presentation files will test seminar preparation skills, and the ability to concisely integrate information from a variety of sources and to explain why particular issues are important and/or controversial.
• Formative feedback on seminar presentations will help students to develop skills and consolidate their knowledge and understanding, including the ability to present the key arguments of important topics, evaluate tests of theoretical concepts, and structure an argument.
• Formative assessment is given for essay plan and abstract and will help students hone their skills in synthesis of material, critical evaluation and structured academic writing.
• Summative essays assess assimilated knowledge, the ability to write analytically and the ability to think independently about issues in primate behaviour and palaeoanthropology and palaeoecology.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

Formative feedback is given for seminar presentations, for a 500 word abstract for the 2500 word palaeoanthropology/palaeoecology essay (topic to be devised by the student and agreed with the seminar leader for that part of the module) and a 400 word plan for the primate behaviour essay.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University