This class explores the fossil and archaeological evidence for human evolution, concepts of race and racism, and the development and dynamics of cultures. We examine the fossil and artifact record of the last several million years in order to develop an understanding of why we are interesting animals and a somewhat unique species. The first part of the course, taught by Prof. Polk, considers our biological heritage. We learn the biological bases of human life and carefully evaluate the human fossil record. The second part of the course, taught by Prof. Fennell, introduces students to archaeology, the evolution of cultural behavior, and archaeological investigations of cultures in world prehistory and history.

Grades will be based on two examinations, discussion section assignments, and two 3-5 page article or book reviews.

We have created a course web page for Human Origins and Culture using the University's Compass program. You can access the course web page by logging onto the Compass system, which will display all existing web pages for your courses. The log-on page is available at:
https://icprodportal01.cites.uiuc.edu/content/login.html. Choose Anth. 102 from the display list and you can access the course syllabus, assignments, lecture notes and illustrations, and other online class resources.

Additional internet resources on anthropology and archaeology, which are suggested only and not required reading for this course, are available at: http://www.anthro.uiuc.edu/faculty/cfennell/bookmark2.html.

Additional internet resources on African and African-American archaeology, cultures, and history, which are suggested only and not required reading for this course, are available at: http://www.diaspora.uiuc.edu/bookmark3.html.