On Modern Human Origins

ASM 494/594

Spring 2006

Wednesday 1:40-4:30 in Nursing Building, Room 306

Course Description:

            This course will discuss human evolutionary history from a genetic perspective.  In particular, we will examine the different models that have been proposed for recent human evolution, the types of genetic markers that have been analyzed and what they indicate, and the current debates in the field. Did the most recent common ancestors of modern humans exist 1 million, 500,000 or 50,000 years ago? Where did they live, and did they interbreed with other hominins? Do the available genetic data enable us to distinguish between the competing theories of the origin of modern humans? What kinds of data are necessary for testing these hypotheses? Emphasis is on critical reading and discussion of recent literature. Students will also get some hands on experience with basic analyses of data.