HUMAN PALEONTOLOGY AND PALEOANTHROPOLOGY
Academic year and teacher
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- Versione italiana
- Academic year
- 2021/2022
- Teacher
- MARTA ARZARELLO
- Credits
- 6
- Didactic period
- Primo Semestre
- SSD
- BIO/08
Training objectives
- The course aims to provide students with the knowledge related to the natural and evolutionary history of Man. The aim is to understand and assimilate the different stages of the evolution of Man, from the Ominoidee of the Miocene to our species Homo sapiens, also integrating the population dynamics of the various geographical areas: Africa, continental and insular Asia, Europe, Oceania and America . The course also aims to provide practical skills for recognizing different human fossils thanks to laboratory activities.
THE COURSE IS MADE IN ENGLISH AND ITALIAN Prerequisites
- General knowledge of human anatomy.
Course programme
- The topics covered during the course will be the following:
Fundamentals of human anatomy
The concept of evolution
Diversity of the living world
Classification of current primates
Chronology
Anatomical comparison between man and the great apes
Hominoidea of ¿¿the middle and upper Miocene in Africa
Bipedia
First Ominini in Africa
Paleo-environmental evolution
Australopithecines
Paranthropes and early African Homo
Homo rudolfensis, Homo habilis
Homo ergaster and Homo erectus in Africa
Homo georgicus
Homo erectus in Asia
Homo floresiensis and Homo luzonensis
The first European population
First African Homo sapiens
Homo heidelbergensis and Homo neandethalensis
The modern man (Cro-Magnon Man) in Europe Didactic methods
- The course includes lectures (transmitted by videoconference) and practical lessons that will focus on human anatomy, on the analysis and recognition of fossil remains of our ancestors and on 3D analysis techniques of paleoanthropological remains.
Learning assessment procedures
- Oral or written exam, at the discretion of the student. The exam will be asked 5-7 questions on the topics covered during the lessons and in-depth on textbooks.
Reference texts
- Italian
Giorgio Manzi, 2013 – Il grande racconto dell’evoluzione umana
Additional texts (optional)
Giorgio Manzi, 2007 - L'evoluzione umana. Edizioni Il Mulino
Giorgio Manzi, 2006 - Homo sapiens. Edizioni Il Mulino
Biodi G. & Rickards O., 2009 - Uomini da sei milioni di anni. L'evoluzione della nostra specie. Carocci editore
English
Aiello, L. & Dean, C. 1990. An introduction to human evolutionary anatomy. Academic Press, London
Wolpoff, M.H., 1994. Paleoanthropology. College Custom Series, McGraw-Hill, New-York.
Henke, W. & Tattersall, I. 2007. Vol I: Principles, Methods and Approaches Vol II: Primate Evolution and Human Origins Vol III: Phylogeny of Hominids.
The teacher will also provide scientific articles that will be an integral part of the bibliography.
