Section 0373
3 Credits
Instructor: Kendra L. Malm
OFFICE Student Building 348
HRS TU & TH 10:00 - 11:30
Location and time- Wednesday, 7:00-9:15 PM, Ballantine Hall 204. We will meet once a week for a two-hour period which will be broken by a 15-minute break. While most of the period will be taken up with lecture, there will also be videos, discussions, and/or hands-on projects.
Description- This is an introductory course covering the broad outlines of human origins; where, when, how and why Homo sapiens came to be. We will study both the biological and cultural changes that have occurred as the human lineage has developed, and the evidence that we have for those changes. Thus, we will be focusing on two of the four sub-fields of Anthropology. Biological evidence (things like fossils and DNA) is studied by Physical Anthropologists, while cultural evidence (tools and other clues to behavior) is the domain of the Archaeologist. Topics will include evolutionary thought, genetics and heredity, primates, the origins of bipedalism, the origins of culture and technology, the evolution of language and the brain, the emergence of modern humans, and the origins of art, agriculture & civilization.
Your instructor- I am a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology and an affiliate of CRAFT (Center for Research into the Anthropological Foundations of Technology) here at IU. I have a BA in Anthropology from the University of Washington, Seattle and have done fieldwork in Israel & museum work in Seattle. My research focus is upon lithic technology; understanding the making and use of stone tools.
Readings- The textbook will be Human Antiquity by Kenneth L. Feder and Michael Alan Park, Third edition (1997), Mayfield Publishing, Mountain View CA.
Tests- There will be two mid-terms and a final which will consist of multiple choice questions. The questions will cover material from both the lectures and the text (I'll cover some things in lecture that aren't mentioned in the book and vice versa). Each mid-term will have forty questions and be worth 20% of your grade. The final will consist of two parts of forty questions each, one covering material since the last mid-term and the other being comprehensive, both of which will be worth 20%. The date of the final will be Monday, May 4, 7:15-9:15 PM. Any make-up exams for missed mid-terms will be essay-type and have to be completed within a week of the original test.
Take-home Assignments- There will be four short take-home assignments which will be given out during class times and due back the following week. They will comprise the remaining 20% of your grade. Each will have a "set-up" explaining the problem, some data pertaining to it, and a series of questions for you to answer. I will expect your write-up to be word processed or typed. Points will be deducted for late assignments.
Grading- The total points that can be earned over the course of the semester are 200 divided in the following manner:
| SOURCE | POINTS |
| Mid-term 1 | 40 |
| Mid-term 2 | 40 |
| Final | 80 |
| Assign. 1 | 8 |
| Assign. 2 | 8 |
| Assign. 3 | 12 |
| Assign. 4 | 12 |
The preliminary curve will be based on the following scale; 90% of 200 points for an A, 80% for a B, 70% for a C, 60% for a D, and less than 50% will get you an F. I may revise this after I see how well people are doing. However, it will not get any worse than the above scale; 80% will always be at least a B-, and may become a B, B+, or even an A- depending on how well the class as a whole is doing.
Academic misconduct- Will not be tolerated and be grounds for failure of the class. Consult the Code of Student Ethics for more details.
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