11521 - Phisical Anthropology I

Learning outcomes

The course involves the study of the natural history of man, considering its origin, evolution, variability, mechanisms of biological and biocultural adaptation, and the dynamics of ancient human peopling. Students acquire adequate skills in the analysis and interpretation of fossil and sub-fossil human remains and the construction of interpretative models of evolutionary processes of man and of the ancient human peopling, as well as specific skills in the study of human biodiversity and its significance. 

Course contents

The first part of the course deals with the methods to study palaeontological specimens, the systematic study of the most important palaeoanthropological finds and the reconstruction of primate phylogeny and the evolutionary, biological and cultural history of man. The specific course topics are: contents and methods of paleoanthropology, history of evolutionary thinking, evolutionary theory, principles of evolutionary biology, micro- and macroevolutionary mechanisms and speciation processes. Fossils and evolution, methods of dating palaeoanthropological specimens, methods and criteria of the study of fossils, elements of anatomy and skeletal morphology, the order Primates and the human-anthropomorphic ape comparison, evolutionary anatomical-functional modifications, palaeontology and phylogeny of primates, the environment of hominization, bipedalism and conquest of the savannah, the human threshold. Stages of biological and cultural evolution from the first hominids to anatomically modern man, the ancient human peopling.

The second part of the course is focused on the study of human variability and its biocultural and adaptive significance. The following topics are discussed: introduction to biological anthropology, the genetic bases and environmental factors of human variability, principles and mechanisms of human evolution, processes of genetic, phenotypic and cultural adaptation of man to the environment, human variability at the synchronic and diachronic level and biocultural relationships with the environment. The anthropological and adaptive significance of human variability: morphological, metric and skin traits in man and the various human populations. Human growth and ageing. The biological and ethnic diversity of human groups.The anthropological reconstruction of the peoples of the past through the study of human remains.

Readings/Bibliography

F. MALLEGNI. Mutationes. La lunga traccia dell'evoluzione umana. CISU, Roma, 2010.

F. MALLEGNI (ed), Come eravamo, LTU Guarguaglini, Pisa, 2004.

G. MANZI. L'evoluzione umana. Ed. Il Mulino, Bologna, 2007.

F. FACCHINI, Antropologia – Evoluzione, Uomo, Ambiente, UTET Libreria, Torino, II ed., 1995.
B. CHIARELLI, Dalla Natura alla Cultura - Principi di Antropologia biologica e culturale, Piccin, Padova, 2003-2004.

A. COTTIGNOLI, G. GRUPPIONI: Fabio Frassetto e l'enigma del volto di Dante. Longo Editore, 2012

Teaching methods

The course is based on lectures dealing with the program topics, supplemented by seminars on specific subjects and some practical exercises.

Assessment methods

Student evaluation consists of an oral exam on the entire course program. The student must show that he/she has acquired adequate general and systematic knowledge of the various topics and has mastered the scientific and methodological tools necessary for a reasoned analysis and criticism of the program subjects.

Teaching tools

The course is based on lectures dealing with the program topics, supplemented by seminars on specific subjects.

Office hours

See the website of Giorgio Gruppioni