Universität Wien

300162 UE Debates in Evolutionary Anthropology (2023W)

3.00 ECTS (2.00 SWS), SPL 30 - Biologie
Continuous assessment of course work

Registration/Deregistration

Note: The time of your registration within the registration period has no effect on the allocation of places (no first come, first served).

Details

max. 15 participants
Language: English

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

Monday 02.10.23 3pm to 4.30pm Course Introduction

The course on 02.12.23 has moved to 09.12.23!!!

  • Monday 02.10. 15:00 - 16:30 Seminarraum 1.7, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 1.010, Ebene 1 (Kickoff Class)
  • Saturday 04.11. 10:00 - 17:00 Seminarraum 5.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 5.131, Ebene 5
  • Saturday 09.12. 10:00 - 17:00 Seminarraum 5.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 5.131, Ebene 5
  • Saturday 16.12. 10:00 - 14:00 Seminarraum 5.1, Biologie Djerassiplatz 1, 5.131, Ebene 5

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

Critical assessment of scientific papers and projects. We will discuss papers proposing new approaches and models in evolutionary anthropology including comments by other scientists on these new ideas.

Assessment and permitted materials

Active presence
Reading and presentation of selected paper comments
Open assignment on grant proposals

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Presence is obligatory for grading. 70% active discussion and presentation of papers, 30% grant proposal assignment.
The course will take place in person unless unexpected events necessitate a switch to virtual.

Examination topics

Reading, presentations, discussion, assignment

Reading list

6 papers for discussion will be selected from the below:
Bostoen, K., Clist, B., Doumenge, C., Grollemund, R., Hombert, J.-M., Muluwa, J.K., Maley, J., 2015. Middle to Late Holocene Paleoclimatic Change and the Early Bantu Expansion in the Rain Forests of Western Central Africa. Curr. Anthropol. 56, 354–384. https://doi.org/10.1086/681436
Domínguez-Rodrigo, M., 2014. Is the “Savanna Hypothesis” a Dead Concept for Explaining the Emergence of the Earliest Hominins? Curr. Anthropol. 55, 59–81. https://doi.org/10.1086/674530
Hayden, B., 2020. Archaeological Pitfalls of Storage. Curr. Anthropol. 61, 763–793. https://doi.org/10.1086/712087
Henshilwood, C.S., Marean, C.W., 2003. The Origin of Modern Human Behavior: Critique of the Models and Their Test Implications. Curr. Anthropol. 44, 627–651. https://doi.org/10.1086/377665
Holliday, T.W., Gautney, J.R., Friedl, L., 2014. Right for the Wrong Reasons: Reflections on Modern Human Origins in the Post-Neanderthal Genome Era. Curr. Anthropol. 55, 696–724. https://doi.org/10.1086/679068
James, S.R., Dennell, R.W., Gilbert, A.S., Lewis, H.T., Gowlett, J. a. J., Lynch, T.F., McGrew, W.C., Peters, C.R., Pope, G.G., Stahl, A.B., James, S.R., 1989. Hominid Use of Fire in the Lower and Middle Pleistocene: A Review of the Evidence [and Comments and Replies]. Curr. Anthropol. 30, 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1086/203705
Kuhn, S.L., Stiner, M.C., 2006. What’s a Mother to Do? The Division of Labor among Neandertals and Modern Humans in Eurasia. Curr. Anthropol. 47, 953–981. https://doi.org/10.1086/507197
Maher, L.A., Conkey, M., 2019. Homes for Hunters?: Exploring the Concept of Home at Hunter-Gatherer Sites in Upper Paleolithic Europe and Epipaleolithic Southwest Asia. Curr. Anthropol. 60, 91–137. https://doi.org/10.1086/701523
Nahum-Claudel, C., 2020. Pyrotechnical Mastery and Humanization: Amazonian Cuisine, Care, and Craft in Evolutionary and Semiotic Perspective. Curr. Anthropol. 61, 418–440. https://doi.org/10.1086/710356
Pascual-Garrido, A., Almeida-Warren, K., 2021. Archaeology of the Perishable: Ecological Constraints and Cultural Variants in Chimpanzee Termite Fishing. Curr. Anthropol. 62, 333–362. https://doi.org/10.1086/713766
Scherjon, F., Bakels, C., MacDonald, K., Roebroeks, W., 2015. Burning the Land: An Ethnographic Study of Off-Site Fire Use by Current and Historically Documented Foragers and Implications for the Interpretation of Past Fire Practices in the Landscape. Curr. Anthropol. 56, 299–326. https://doi.org/10.1086/681561
Tennie, C., Premo, L.S., Braun, D.R., McPherron, S.P., 2017. Early Stone Tools and Cultural Transmission: Resetting the Null Hypothesis. Curr. Anthropol. 58, 652–672. https://doi.org/10.1086/693846
Thompson, J.C., Carvalho, S., Marean, C.W., Alemseged, Z., 2019. Origins of the Human Predatory Pattern: The Transition to Large-Animal Exploitation by Early Hominins. Curr. Anthropol. 60, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1086/701477

Association in the course directory

MAN 3

Last modified: We 08.11.2023 12:28