SUBJECT

Human evolution: theories of human origin and human adaptation

lecture

master

Faculty of Science

Environmental Science MSc

2

Semester 2

Spring semester

• Mechanisms of human adaptation, primate, hominid, hominin characteristics of biological evolution, aspects of cultural evolution in human evolution
• Paleoanthropological researches, human ontogeny and phylogeny, introduction to phylogenetics
• Hominida and Pongida evolution in the Miocen era of Africa, the ecological influences ont he early hominida’s biodiversity.
• The origin of human bipedalism, the consequences of bipedalism, the Rubicon limit of brain capacity, the origin of stone tool cultures
• The biodiversity of early Hominida and Australopithecus groups, the morphological definition of Homo genus, the early Homo fossils, Homo ergaster and its contemporaries
• Homo erectus: its body dimensions, Homos from the late-middle Pleistocen era, the neanderthal man and his contemporaries
• The origin of modern Homos, Hominid phylogeny
• Archaeology: paleo-ecological reconstruction, cronometry in paleoanthropology, geological characteristics of Hominid habitats in Africa, paleo-climate, Primate and Hominin migration pattern, diversification patterns
• Paleo-diet of Hominins, population genetics, paleoanthropology, ancient DNA, paleodemography of extinct Hominin populations
• The modelling of the past: primatological, ethnological, linguistic aspects, evolutional morphology, computer aided reconstructions
• Morphology and paleo-ecology: Primate evolution morphological evidences, molecular evidences, Primate fossils from the Paleocen, Oligocen and Miocen eras, biotic environment of Hominoid groups from the late Miocen era
• Adaptation: Hominoida postcranial and motor adaptation, Hominoid cranial diversity and adaptation, dental adaptation of Primates from Africa, the evolution of Primate brain
• The biology and evolution of Pongid nutrition, social systems of Anthropoid cultures, Primate intelligence, hunting behavioural pattern of chimpanzees, cooperation, coalitions, associations
• Paleo-population genetics: population biology and population genetics of Hominins from the Pleistocen era, specialisation, facts and theories; the environmental influences of human groups in the paleolit and neolit era, the dentition of amerindids: the evolutional and demographic consequences of their migration from Siberia

• Henke, W., Tattersall, I. (2007) Handbook of Paleoanthropology I-III. Springer, Heidelberg
• Gaulin, S.J.C. (2013, Ed.) Human Evolution: Processes and Adaptations. Cognella, NY. ISBN: 978-1626613676.
• Smith, F.H., Ahern, J.C. (2013) The origins of modern humans: biology reconsidered. Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 978-0-470-89409-5.
• Wood, B. (2013, Ed.) Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Human Evolution. Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN: 978-1-118-65099-8.